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ISQBEL   STRONG 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 


The  Girl  from  Home 

A  STORY  OF  HONOLULU 

By 
ISOBEL  STRONG 


NEW  YORK 

McCLURE,  PHILLIPS  &  CO. 
MCMV 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
McCLURE,  PHILLIPS  &  CO. 

Published  April,  1905 


Copyright,  1905,  by  The  Criterion  Publication  Company 


To  my  friend 
JeannetttN  orris 


*  • 


x  T 


CONTENTS 


I  The  Arrival .  3 

II  Meeting  Walter 19 

III  A  New  Friend 31 

IV  The  Ross  Family .  44 

V  Good-bye  to  Walter 60 

VI  The  Bower 69 

VII  The  Drive      . 85 

Vin  The  Accident 99 

IX  The  Dance  on  The  Mohawk    ....  108 

X  Max  to  the  Rescue 120 

XI  In  the  Garden 140 

XII  Dick 155 

XHI  In  "  Portugee  Town " 167 

XIV  The  Ring 181 

XV  The  Magic  Carpet 192 

XVI  Riding  the  Surf 210 

XVII  The  Fish 236 

XVIII  Lessons 252 

XIX  The  Palace  Ball 266 

XX  Aloha  Oe  .  287 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 


CHAPTER  ONE 

%  • 

The  Arrival 

IT  is  strange  to  think,"  said  the  younger  woman  as 
the  two  stood  leaning  over  the  railing  of  the  ship, 
"  that  this  beautiful  land  will  be  my  home.  I  may 
spend  a  whole  long  lifetime  in  this  country  that  is  so  new 
to  me  now. " 

"  Your  future  home  is  prettier  than  this, "  said  her 
friend.  "  The  Huapala  plantation  is  on  another  island 
—  Maui.  You  will  have  a  waterfall  for  a  near  neighbour, 
high  mountains  and  a  view  that  cannot  be  beaten  in  the 
whole  kingdom." 

"  I  have  often  thought,"  said  Florence,  "  that  the 
more  noble  and  awe-inspiring  nature  is,  the  more  lonely 
you  feel.  " 

"  Well,  you  will  have  company,  too  —  any  number  of 
agreeable  men  riding  in  to  see  you  from  the  other  plan- 
tations —  nice,  clean  Englishmen,  mostly  younger  sons. 
There  won't  be  many  women,  but  I  guess  you  can  stand 
that  —  I  could. " 

[3] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Mr.  Sprague  said  he  had  some  good  horses. " 
"  If  you  are  fond  of  riding  you  will  be  happy,"  replied 
Mrs.  Landry.  "They  say  plantation  life  is  pleasant 
enough,  but  it  isn't  Honolulu.  Oh, "  she  sighed,  "  I  have 
been  so  homesick  I  could  hardly  bear  it.  I  hate  cold 
places  and  heavy  cloth  dresses  and  stout  boots  and 
kid  gloves.  My  dear,  I  descended  to  the  ignominy  of 
flannels!  Nothing  short  of  pneumonia  drove  me  to  it. 
Oh,  when  I  felt  the  first  warm  breath  of  the  tropics  — 
when  I  could  come  out  on  deck  in  my  first  crinkly, 
crackly,  white  linen,  I  felt  I  was  nearing  home ! " 

The  gown  she  wore  carried  in  every  crisp  fold  the  un- 
mistakable stamp  of  fashion.  Her  figure  was  of  that 
perfect  proportion  shop  people  call  "stock-size,"  the 
thirty-six  bust  and  forty-two  skirt  that  is  advertised 
for  in  cloak  models,  and  though  undeniably  hand- 
some, it  bore  too  great  a  resemblance  to  a  fashion- 
plate.  The  nipped-in  waist,  the  straight  back,  the  long 
line  from  the  belt  to  the  instep  were  as  stiff  and  un- 
compromising as  though  cut  out  of  the  last  issue  of  the 
Elite  du  Monde.  Her  hair,  a  little  too  brilliantly  golden, 
showed  satiny  coils  under  her  smart,  straw  hat,  and  her 
face,  protected  from  the  sun's  rays  by  a  white  gauze 
veil,  was  faultless  in  drawing  and  might  have  been 
beautiful  were  it  not  marred  by  the  mocking  expres- 
sion of  her  yellow  eyes,  as  hard  and  as  bright  as  topaz. 

[4] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

The  younger  woman  as  she  stood  looking  eagerly  out 
over  the  water  was  a  strong  contrast  to  Mrs.  Landry. 
The  one  was  a  product  of  art,  self-contained,  a  wo- 
man of  the  world  ;  the  other  was  unaffectedly  girlish 
and  simple.  She  was  not  so  tall  as  Mrs.  Landry,  and  her 
figure,  though  slighter,  was  more  rounded  and  graceful 
She  wore  a  plain  blue  sailor-suit,  but  there  were  touches 
of  dainty  individuality  about  her  dress.  The  large, 
white  collar  turned  back  from  her  throat  over  a  scarlet, 
knotted  'kerchief;  the  silver  belt  matching  the  buckles 
in  her  high-heeled  shoes;  even  the  hat  pins  of  large 
silver  balls,  and  the  red  band  on  her  straw  sailor  were 
distinctly  characteristic.  The  blues  and  reds  in  her  cos- 
tume harmonized  with  her  own  vivid  tints.  There  was 
vitality  in  every  ripple  and  curl  of  her  bright  brown 
hair,  worn  in  a  figure  eight,  low  upon  her  neck.  Her  eyes, 
sparkling  with  interest  and  excitement,  deepened  from 
blue  to  black  with  varying  moods,  while  her  colour,  clear 
and  fresh  as  a  child's,  came  and  went,  leaving  her  pale 
and  flushed  by  turns.  The  expression  of  her  face  was 
trusting  and  frank;  but  the  slightly  aquiline  curve  of  her 
small  nose,  and  the  firm  line  of  her  rounded  chin  re- 
deemed it  from  any  sign  of  weakness.  In  moments  of  ani- 
mation a  faint,  almost  imperceptible  change  passed 
over  her  face,  a  quiver  of  the  nostril,  a  momentary 
trembling  of  the  lips,  showing  a  high-strung  and  sensi- 

[5] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

live  spirit,  a  nature  capable  of  intense  feeling  whether 
of  suffering  or  of  pleasure. 

"Have  you  always  lived  here?"  she  asked  of  Mrs. 
Landry. 

"I  came  out  to  be  married,  just  as  you  are  doing 
now, "  replied  the  widow.  "  It  was  ten  years  ago,  and  I 
was  very  young.  But  I  don't  want  to  remember  any  pre- 
vious existence.  I  wish  I  were  a  real  Hawaiian,  that  I 
might  call  old  Diamond  Head  mine.  I  am  so  sentimental 
that  I  know  when  I  die  you  will  find  Diamond  Head 
engraved  on  my  heart. " 

As  the  steamer  sped  onward  through  the  blue 
water,  the  noble  headland  that  guards  the  entrance 
to  Honolulu  loomed  up  grandly  against  the  trade- 
wind  sky. 

"You  will  love  Diamond  Head,"  continued  Mrs.  Lan- 
dry. "  Love  it  as  the  Japanese  love  Fujiyama.  After  the 
rains  there  are  little  rivers  running  down  its  sides  in  all 
those  cracks  and  crevices.  It  is  beautiful  in  the  early 
morning  when  it  is  grey  and  shadowy  and  vague  and 
misty;  and  in  the  afternoon  —  it  faces  the  west  you  see  — 
it  is  splendid  in  the  full  light  of  the  setting  sun.  But  oh, 
how  can  I  describe  it  by  moonlight !  It  looks  better  from 
the  shore  —  along  there  —  you  see  that  clean  sweep  of 
beach  ?  That  is  Waikiki.  From  any  house  along  there 
Diamond  Head  is  glorious.  At  night,  when  it  is  in  sil- 

[6] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

houette,  it  has  the  outlines  of  a  recumoent  figure 
covered  by  a  shroud.  You  can  see  the  head,  the  hump 
where  the  hands  are  clasped  and  a  smaller  hump 
where  the  feet  stick  up,  and  over  all  is  the  shroud  that 
flows  down  —  down  —  that  is  the  sides  you  know.  Some 
day  we  will  go  and  explore.  There  are  caves  in  Diamond 
Head  where  old  Hawaiian  chiefs  and  warriors  are 
buried.  Oh,  there  are  so  many  things  to  see  in  Hono- 
lulu, and  one  never,  never  sees  them. " 

"Why  not?"  asked  Florence. 

"  Because  you  are  dancing  and  riding  and  driving 
and  playing  tennis  and  flirting,  and  find  life  too  excit- 
ing. Oh,  I'm  glad  to  be  home. " 

"  I  was  afraid, "  said  the  girl  kindly,  "  that  you  might 
find  it  sad  coming  back. " 

"  You  mean  about  my  husband's  death  ?  Well,  I  was 
sad  for  a  year  and  a  half.  I  wore  mourning  till  I'm  sick 
of  the  very  sight  of  black.  Think  of  crepe  in  the  tropics ! 
Poor,  old  Joshua!  My  husband  was  a  good  deal  older 
than  I,  you  know.  He  was  ill  a  long  time  before  he  died. 
Not  suffering,  but  just  moping  around  the  house.  Oh, 
the  dreary  hours  I've  spent,  sitting  by  his  bedside  hold- 
ing his  hand!" 

"Poor  man!"  said  Florence.  "He  must  have  loved 
you. " 

"  He  loved  me, "  said  Mrs.  Landry,  "  but  it  wasn't  al- 
[7] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

together  affection.  He  wanted  to  know  where  I  was.  As 
long  as  he  had  hold  of  me  he  knew  I  was  there. " 

"He  and  my  father  were  old  friends,  weren't 
they?" 

"  They  went  to  school  together,  or  something, "  said 
the  widow.  "I  know  Joshua  used  to  talk  a  great  deal 
about  Mr.  Van  Voorhis,  and  when  he  made  his  business 
trips  to  the  coast  your  father  would  put  him  up  at  his 
club  and  all  that. " 

"I  know  papa  was  so  glad  you  were  coming  down 
on  the  same  steamer, "  said  Florence.  "  Indeed,  he  hur- 
ried me  up  to  go  sooner  than  I  had  intended  so  that  I 
might  be  under  your  charge.  It  has  been  awfully  nice 
for  me, "  she  added,  smiling. 

"  I  never  did  chaperon  before, "  said  Mrs.  Landry, 
not  too  cordially.  "  It's  an  entirely  new  role  for  me,  but 
you  haven't  given  much  trouble  so  far  and  I  suppose 
Mr.  Sprague  will  come  out  on  the  pilot  boat,  and  then 
my  duties  will  be  over. " 

"  I  hope  he  will  come  to  meet  me, "  said  Florence,  the 
quick  flush  deepening  in  her  cheeks.  "  I'm  getting  very 
nervous.  It  is  such  a  new  and  strange  experience,  and 
not  at  all  like  what  I  expected.  I  don't  suppose  anything 
ever  is,  really.  But  I've  seen  so  little  of  the  world.  That  is 
a  pretty  place, "  she  went  on,  after  a  pause.  "  Are  those 
little  white  things  houses  far  up  on  the  slope  of  that 

[8] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

mountain  ?  The  people  who  live  there  must  have  a  won- 
derful view  of  the  sea. " 

"  That  is  Punchbowl, "  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "  It  is  hol- 
low on  top  where  a  volcano  used  to  be.  Some  day  it  will 
break  out  again,  very  likely,  and  sweep  us  all  into  the 
sea.  Away  off  there  to  the  left  are  the  Waianui ;  we  always 
call  them  the  Delectable  Mountains. " 

"  I  think, "  said  Florence,  "  that  from  here  Diamond 
Head  looks  like  a  Sphinx.  That  outward  sweep  of  what 
you  call  the  shroud  might  be  her  paws,  and  she  is  keep- 
ing guard  over  the  town. " 

"Now,  you  see,"  said  Mrs.  Landry  delightedly, 
"  you're  getting  poetical  already  about  Diamond  Head. 
Oh,  you  will  love  it!" 

"I  never  saw  a  whole  city  at  once  before,"  said 
Florence.  "  When  you  near  San  Francisco,  from  the  bay 
it  is  beautiful  with  all  its  hills,  especially  at  night,  lit  up 
against  the  western  sky.  But  you  only  see  the  half.  Here 
you  can  look  at  the  whole  place  in  a  sweet  little  bunch  of 
green,  with  the  tops  of  the  houses  peeping  through.  See 
how  it  thins  out  on  this  side  toward  Diamond  Head  and 
over  there  toward  the  Delectable  Mountains,  and 
straggles  up  the  side  of  Punchbowl.  You  see  it  all,  so 
quiet  and  peaceful." 

"  My  dear,  that  quiet,  peaceful  place  is  buzzing  like  a 
bee-hive, "  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "  Central  is  ringing  up  the 

[9] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

town.  Butcher  and  baker  and  candlestick-maker,  they 
are  all  excited  over  the  prospect  of  getting  their  mail, 
and  hearing  news  of  the  outside  world.  They  only  re- 
ceive their  letters  once  a  month. " 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  the  telephone  people  ring  up  ?  " 

"Yes,  indeed.  Central  rings  you  up  if  a  sailing  ship 
comes  in,  or  the  King's  boat  wins  a  yacht  race,  or  a  mis- 
sionary's wife  has  a  baby.  You  don't  miss  anything  in 
Honolulu.  Really,  Central  is  a  comfort.  You  can  ask  him 
what  time  it  is,  and  how  to  cook  squid,  and  sometimes 
I've  just  rung  him  up  for  company  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  when  I  was  sitting  up  with  Joshua.  Of  course,  it 
isn't  always  the  same  person,  but  Central  is  sure  to  be 
friendly  and  chirpy,  and  as  full  of  gossip  as  a  naval  offi- 
cer, and  no  one  can  say  more  than  that.  So,  if  ever  you 
are  in  doubt,  ring  up  Central.  Just  now  the  lines  are 
busy,  I  can  tell  you.  They  are  asking  if  Mr.  Sprague's 
fiancee  is  on  the  Suez,  and  has  the  lovely  widow  re- 
turned. They  are  asking  — " 

"  Who  won  the  prize-fight  ?  " 

It  was  the  voice  of  the  pilot  who  shouted  his  question 
from  the  rope-ladder,  puffing  and  blowing,  as  friendly 
hands  pulled  him  over  the  side  of  the  ship.  The  passen- 
gers gathered  in  an  excited  group  about  him. 

"  Who  won  the  prize-fight  ?  "  he  shouted  again. 

"John  L.  Sullivan,"  was  the  answer. 
[10] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

"Ho,  ho!"  he  cried.  "I've  won  fifty  on  that." 

A  frail  looking  woman  who  had  been  ill  nearly  the 
whole  trip  pushed  forward  and  asked  anxiously:  "Is 
the  man-of-war  Adams  in  port  ?  " 

"  Expect  her  in  every  day, "  said  the  pilot,  "  but  she 
ain't  sighted  yet.  She  is  considerably  overdue  already. " 

"  My  husband  is  on  board, "  said  the  woman,  who  had 
turned  very  pale.  "  Is  there  a  letter  for  Mrs.  Worthing  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am, "  he  answered.  "  I'm  sorry,  but  the  only 
letter  I've  got  is  for  Miss  Van  Voorhis.  "  Florence  step- 
ped forward  impulsively.  "  Is  that  you,  miss  ?  "  he  said. 
"I'm  glad  to  make  your  acquaintance.  Welcome  to 
Honolulu.  Here's  the  letter,"  and  he  pushed  his  way 
through  the  group  of  buzzing  passengers  to  take  up  a 
proud  position  on  the  bridge. 

Florence  tore  open  her  envelope  with  trembling 
fingers,  and  after  a  glance  at  the  letter,  handed  it  to 
Mrs.  Landry.  Scrawled  across  a  card  were  these  words : 

"Dearest  Florence.  Unexpectedly  detained.  Witness 
lawsuit.  Go  to  hotel.  Meet  you  there.  Walter. " 

"  It  reads  like  a  telegram, "  said  the  widow. 

"  It  is  very  disappointing, "  said  Florence.  Her  sensi- 
tive lips  were  trembling.  "  You'll  come  with  me  to  the 
hotel,  won 't  you  ?  It's  miserable  to  arrive  all  alone,  and  go 
on  shore  by  yourself.  Even  at  home  I  hated  to  go  any- 
where alone,  and  here  it  is  all  so  new  and  strange. " 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Pouf ! "  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "  Just  take  a  carriage  — 
they  call  it  an '  express '  here,  Heaven  knows  why  —  there 
will  be  plenty  on  the  wharf.  You  11  drive  straight  to  the 
hotel,  that's  all  you  have  to  do.  I'd  go  with  you,  of  course, 
only  some  friends  will  be  down  to  meet  me  and  I've 
made  other  arrangements.  But,  really,  you  shouldn't 
mind.  Mr.  Sprague  will  be  there  to  meet  you  and  then 
you'll  be  all  right. " 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Landry!"  cried  the  girl  suddenly.  "  What 
if  I  shouldn't  like  him  ?  " 

The  widow  started.  "  My  dear ! "  she  cried,  in  a  tone 
between  commiseration  and  agreeable  excitement. 
"  Aren't  you  sure  ?  Have  you  any  doubts  ?  " 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Florence;  "it's  so  long  since  I 
saw  him,  and  I'm  afraid  I've  been  thinking  too  much  of 
getting  away  from  home.  It  has  been  a  sad  year  for  me 
and  I  missed  my  mother  so  much.  "  She  looked  up  at  the 
white  clouds  resting  on  the  summit  of  Punchbowl  and 
sighed.  "  It's  beautiful  here,  and  I  thought  it  would  be 
restful  and  far  away.  But  —  but  now  I  —  you  see,  I 
really  don't  know  him  very  well. " 

"  Well,  if  you  don't  love  him,  don't  marry  him, "  said 
Mrs.  Landry.  "Of  course,  he  belongs  to  a  good,  old 
missionary  family,  and  will  come  into  a  share  of  the 
Huapala  plantation  when  his  father  dies,  but  he's  only 
a  luna  now,  and  when  I  first  saw  you  I  felt  you  were  cut 

[12] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

out  for  a  better  fate  than  being  the  wife  of  an  overseer  on 
a  sugar  plantation.  How  did  you  come  to  meet  him  ?  " 

"When  my  mother  was  living,"  said  Florence,  "we 
went,  she  and  I,  to  the  Calaveras  big  trees  for  a  trip.  I 
had  just  left  school  that  I  might  be  with  her,  for  we  were 
getting  frightened  about  her  health.  We  met  Mr. 
Sprague,  who  was  on  a  vacation,  and  he  was  so  kind  to 
mother.  I  didn't  take  it  very  seriously  then,  but  we  kept 
writing  to  each  other  and  I  never  saw  anybody  at  all,  as 
we  lived  in  the  country  for  my  mother's  health.  Then, 
when  she  died,  I  was  so  lonely  —  and  so  —  well,  he 
wrote  and  asked  me  —  " 

"  He  proposed  by  letter,  didn't  he  ?  I  remember  per- 
fectly when  he  sent  you  your  engagement  ring  by  the 
purser  of  the  Suez.  " 

"  Oh!  did  you  know  about  that  ? " 

"My  dear,  everybody  knows  everything  in  the 
tropics.  He  wanted  to  send  it  by  some  trustworthy  per- 
son who  would  give  it  into  your  own  hands,  and  he  was 
so  excited  over  it  he  told  Dick  Leigh-Garrett  who  told 
me,  and  the  purser  was  so  proud  of  his  commission  he 
told  me,  and  I  told  everybody  I  knew. " 

Florence  looked  distressed. 

"My  dear,"  went  on  Mrs.  Landry,  "you  needn't 
think  that  this  whole  town  —  look  at  it  nestling  at  the 
foot  of  Punchbowl  looking  so  innocent  and  quiet  —  you 

[13] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

needn't  think  they  don't  know  all  about  you.  They 
know  you  are  coming  down  to  marry  Walter  Sprague 
and  live  on  Maui,  and  they  have  counted  to  a  cent  what 
your  income  will  be." 

"  It  will  be  a  new  sensation  for  me  to  be  talked  about, 
or  even  noticed.  I've  lived  such  a  quiet  life  at  the  ranch, 
where  the  few  neighbours  we  had  were  too  far  away  to 
trouble  about  us. " 

"Well,  you  must  be  prepared  for  the  worst.  That 
little  green  spot,  that  bouquet  of  gardens  and  lawns,  is 
a  hot-bed  of  gossip.  They'll  tear  you  limb  from  limb ; 
they'll  gnaw  your  bones,  and  the  prettier  you  are  the 
more  ravenous  they  grow.  I  am  used  to  it,"  she 
added,  self-consciously.  "  And  I  am  sure  they  are  talking 
me  over  this  very  minute.  They  know  the  handsome 
widow  is  coming  back  from  San  Francisco,  with  a  moun- 
tain of  trunks  —  they  know  my  only  errand  there  was 
clothes.  They're  picking  out  my  victims  in  advance,  and 
speculating  on  whom  I  shall  marry;  *  catch,'  they'll  call 
it." 

"I  should  think  you'd  hate  it,"  said  Florence;  "and 
hate  them.  I'm  glad  my  hpme  will  be  on  Maui. " 

"My  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Landry,  laughing,  "it  is  the 
joy  of  my  life  to  make  Honolulu  sit  up.  My  time  is  com- 
ing now,  and  I  intend  to  keep  the  old  place  busy.  The 
missionaries  will  open  their  eyes  when  I  come  out  of  my 

[14] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

shell,  or  my  chrysalis,  or  whatever  it  is  that  a  dreary  little 
caterpillar,  all  in  mourning,  comes  out  of  when  it 
changes  into  a  perfectly  beautiful  butterfly.  Look  at 
those  five  ships  all  in  a  row,  pointing  their  noses  toward 
the  shore.  "  She  put  up  her  marine  glass.  "  There's  the 
good  old  Mohawk  —  a  lovely  deck  for  balls.  That  snub- 
nosed  one  is  German  —  the  decks  are  all  cut  up  with 
iron  and  brass  pivots,  and  littered  over  with  guns  —  no 
fun  at  all  for  dancing.  One  English,  another  American 
—  new  arrivals.  I'm  not  sure  about  them,  but  they  look 
nice  and  roomy,  and  old-fashioned.  What  flag  is  that  ? 
Blue  cross  on  white.  Oh,  I  know!  Russian.  Now  look  — 
there  are  five  men-of-  war,  full  of  charming  men,  with 
nothing  on  earth  to  do  but  make  themselves  agree- 
able to  pretty  dames  —  like  us,  let  me  add,  modestly. " 

They  were  slowly  nearing  the  dock.  The  wharf,  roof- 
ed over  and  piled  high  with  loose  coal,  stacks  of  ban- 
anas, barrels  of  sugar,  heavy  boxes,  crates  and  cases, 
was  a  confused  tangle  of  trams,  carts,  wagons,  mules, 
and  donkeys.  Along  the  edge  stood  a  fringe  of  waiting 
people,  looking,  at  a  distance,  as  though  they  were  all 
dressed  in  white.  Their  voices  came  over  the  water, 
loud  shouts  from  the  men,  shrill  calls  from  the 
women  that  were  answered  by  the  passengers  of  the 
nearing  ship. 

"  Who  won  the  prize-fight  ?  " 
[15] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"John  L.Sullivan." 

There  were  cheers  from  the  wharf;  some  of  the  men 
leaped  and  danced,  others  threw  their  hats  in  the  air. 
There  were  more  calls. 

"How's  Mary?" 

"  We've  had  a  perfectly  lovely  trip. " 

"  Say,  the  Dunotter  Castle  was  wrecked  on  Ocean 
Island!" 

As  the  ship  drew  nearer  Florence  eagerly  watched 
the  scene.  It  interested  her  to  see  that  many  of  the  faces 
were  brown;  a  rich,  warm  tint  that  contrasted  with  the 
pale  colour  of  the  white  people. 

Mrs.  Landry  plucked  her  sleeve.  "  Come  over  on  the 
other  side, "  she  said,  "  and  see  the  sailors. " 

A  smart  man-o'-war's  boat  was  approaching  the  ship. 
All  the  oars  rose  in  the  air  like  clock-work  as  it  curved 
gracefully  beside  the  steamer.  A  young  officer  in  white 
uniform  came  up  over  the  side  to  the  deck.  He  stopped  to 
smile  at  Mrs.  Landry. 

"  Hurry  along,  Hammy ! "  she  cried  gaily,  "  and  then 
come  back  and  talk  to  us.  That's  Hamilton  Todd, "  Mrs. 
Landry  explained  to  Florence.  "  He's  one  of  my  Woolly 
Horses  —  that's  what  I  always  call  a  nice,  young  man. 
Poor  Joshua  used  to  get  so  annoyed.  He'd  say:  *  You're 
like  a  child  with  a  woolly  horse  —  always  ready  to 
throw  the  old  one  away  when  you've  broken  it  to  pieces, 

[16] 


THE  ARRIVAL 

and  glad  to  get  a  new  one.'  Well,  Hammy  is  a  woolly 
horse,  you  know.  He  hasn't  an  atom  of  brains,  and  he 
uses  the  most  ridiculously  long  words,  but  he's  a  nice, 
useful  fetch-and-carry  so  I  —  oh,  you  dear  Hammy,  it  is 
good  to  see  you  again ! " 

The  young  man  shook  hands  enthusiastically.  He  was 
extremely  tall  and  thin,  with  a  long  neck,  and  a  kind, 
youthful  face,  much  given  to  blushes. 

"This  is  my  friend,  Miss  Van  Voorhis, "  said  Mrs. 
Landry;  "and  I  want  you  to  be  very  nice  to  her  for  my 
sake. " 

"  I  have  had  an  acquaintance  of  considerable  stand- 
ing with  your  future  —  with  er  —  Mr.  Sprague, "  said 
Lieutenant  Todd,  bowing  to  Florence,  "and  I  con- 
sider it  an  occasion  of  unusual  felicity  to  be  the  first  one 
to  —  er  —  know  you. " 

"  Thank  you, "  said  Florence,  as  the  three  walked  over 
to  the  other  side.  The  ship  was  fairly  alongside,  and  there 
was  a  great  running  and  shouting  and  throwing  of  ropes 
as  the  ship  made  fast  to  the  wharf  and  the  gangway  was 
lowered.  More  people  in  carriages  were  coming  in 
crowds.  Everybody  was  calling  and  screaming  back  and 
forth,  some  in  Hawaiian,  some  in  English. 

"  What  a  pretty  colour  the  natives  are, "  said  Florence. 
"I  thought  they  would  look  like  mulattoes,  but  they 
don't  a  bit.  They're  not  red,  like  the  Indians,  or  yellow, 

[17] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

like  the  Chinese,  but  the  prettiest  brown  I  ever  saw. 
Oh !  Do  look  at  that  nice  boy  in  white,  with  a  straw  hat 
—  isn't  he  beautiful  ?  and  those  girls,  laughing  —  see, 
they're  throwing  wreaths. " 

She  stepped  forward  to  watch  the  scene,  while 
Hammy  whispered  to  Mrs.  Landry  in  some  agitation. 

"  It's  too  bad  of  Mr.  Sprague  "  said  the  widow  in  a 
low  voice.  "  Go  back  to  your  ship  at  once  —  it'll  be 
some  time  before  we're  docked  —  make  your  silly 
old  reports  —  and  be  at  the  hotel  to  meet  Miss  Van 
Voorhis  when  she  gets  there.  Tell  her  I'll  be  up  this 
evening.  I  just  can't  go  now.  The  Bonner  girls  are 
on  the  wharf  and  Dick  is  waiting  for  me.  Fly,  there's 
a  dear  boy,  and  do  as  I  tell  you. " 


[18] 


CHAPTER  TWO 

Meeting  Walter 

MRS.  LANDRY  was  welcomed  by  a  lively  party 
on  the  wharf,  and  whirled  away  in  a  carriage 
full  of  people.  The  acquaintances  Florence 
had  made  on  the  steamer  departed  one  by  one,  too  busy 
and  excited  to  do  more  than  wave  a  friendly  hand  to 
the  girl  who  stood  so  forlornly  by  the  gangway.  Mrs. 
Worthing,  the  wife  of  the  naval  officer,  was  tenderly 
helped  into  a  carriage  and  drove  off  with  the  ship's 
doctor. 

The  air  was  heavy  with  the  heat  and  the  combined 
smells  of  sugar,  seaweed,  coal,  and  ripe  bananas. 
One  carriage  lingered  on  the  almost  deserted  wharf. 
"Want  an  express?"  the  driver  called  as  Florence 
stepped  slowly  down  the  gangway,  her  heart  beating 
fast  with  fright  and  nervousness.  She  nodded  and 
climbed  in. 

"My  name's  Quinn,"  said  the  man  turning  to  ad- 
dress the  young  girl,  who  sat  in  the  back  seat  with  her 

[19] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

hands  tightly  clasped  as  they  drove  through  the  un- 
familiar streets.  "And  if  ye  ring  up  the  Royal  Stables, 
just  ask  if  Dan  Quinn's  on  the  stand,  and  I'll  be  proud 
to  drive  ye." 

"Thank  you,"  she  said,  for  the  man  was  evidently 
friendly,  and  though  his  manner  was  unusual  she  could 
see  that  he  had  no  intention  of  presuming. 

"That  old  building,  jammed  in  among  the  shops," 
he  went  on,  with  the  ease  of  one  who  had  driven  count- 
less parties  of  tourists,  "  is  the  Bethel  Church  that  was 
built  by  the  early  missionaries.  There  were  heaps  of 
sailors  here  in  them  days,  for  Honolulu  was  a  great 
whaling  station.  I've  heard  tell  as  how  you  could  walk 
for  a  mile  on  the  bay,  just  stepping  from  one  whaling 
ship  to  another.  Old  Mr.  Tyler,  he's  living  yet,  mighty 
rich  and  prosperous,  got  the  whalers  to  donate  barrels 
of  whale-oil  to  the  mission,  and  he'd  store  it  and  sell  it, 
for  he  was  a  thrifty  old  Yankee ;  and  so  he  started  that 
church  and  the  beginnings  of  his  fortune  at  the  same 
time.  Tyler  is  a  good  old  missionary  name  in  Honolulu. 
You  can't  throw  a  stone  in  this  town  without  hitting 
a  Tyler.  There's  Tyler  the  banker,  and  Tyler  Brothers 
the  wholesale  fruit  and  provision  merchants,  and  a 
raft  of  young  Tylers  off  at  Harvard  University." 

The  streets  through  which  they  drove  were  narrow, 
and  the  "express"  bumped  over  the  cobble-stones. 

[20] 


MEETING  WALTER 

The  shops  were  low,  of  red  brick,  with  wide  awnings 
stretched  out  over  the  pavement.  Here  and  there  a  tree 
covered  with  bright  flowers  thrust  its  branches  over 
a  stone  wall,  or  a  scarlet-leaved  creeper  struggled 
through  a  crack  or  crevice,  filling  the  air  with  colour 
and  fragrance.  In  Florence's  state  of  agitation  and 
anxiety  she  unconsciously  received  impressions  that 
were  stamped  upon  her  mind  forever.  The  aroma  of 
browning  coffee  as  they  passed  May's  grocery;  the 
heavy  scent  of  gardenia  from  a  group  of  native  girls 
decked  with  flowers,  who  stood  in  a  laughing  group 
on  the  street  corner,  flirting  with  a  couple  of  rakish- 
looking  Chinamen,  were  perfumes  that  ever  after  re- 
called that  first  glimpse  of  Honolulu. 

"This  is  Fort  Street,"  said  Quinn.  "It's  one  of  the 
first  laid  out  here,  that's  why  it's  so  narrow.  It  shows 
the  intelligence  of  the  early  missionaries  to  make  a 
street  like  this  in  the  tropics.  All  the  rest  of  the  town 
has  wide  avenues  it's  a  pleasure  to  drive  on." 

Fort  Street,  with  its  one  line  of  horse-car  tracks 
down  the  centre,  was  crowded  with  vehicles ;  prosperous 
missionaries  in  private  carriages;  basket  phaetons  full 
of  women  and  children  in  starched  summer  clothes, 
carrying  parasols;  smart  dog-carts  driven  by  young 
Englishmen  from  the  outlying  plantations;  expresses 
filled  with  naval  officers;  old  carryalls,  tied  together 

[21] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

with  rope  and  sinnet,  crowded  with  hilarious  natives, 
garlanded  with  wreaths. 

"  Everybody's  in  town,"  said  the  driver.  "  You  see  it's 
steamer  day,  and  they  all  come  in  for  their  mail.  This 
street  is  quiet  as  the  tomb  thirty  days  in  the  month 
and  then,  on  steamer  day,  it's  like  what  you  see  it  now." 

"  Will  we  soon  be  there  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"Right  around  the  corner,"  said  Danny  briskly. 
"Did  you  notice  the  queer  dresses  the  native  women 
wear  ?  The  new-comers  always  ask  about  them.  Some 
say  they  look  like  what  you  ladies  call  a  *  Mother 
Hubbard,'  but  you  see,  when  the  missionaries  arrived 
here  the  native  people  didn't  wear  much  of  anything, 
so  the  white  ladies  handed  'em  over  their  —  excuse  me, 
ma  'am,  but  that's  what  they  did  —  their  nightgowns, 
and  they've  followed  that  pattern  ever  since.  That  stone 
wall  you  see  at  the  end  of  the  street,"  he  went  on,  as 
they  turned  a  corner,  "  is  the  palace  grounds.  Our  gate 
is  on  this  side.  Here  we  are.  And  I  warrant  ye  never 
saw  a  prettier  hotel." 

They  drove  through  a  beautiful  garden  set  out  with 
flower  beds  and  palms. 

"That  pagoda  thing,"  said  Quinn,  "is  the  band- 
stand, and  ye'll  hear  some  fine  music  in  it,  for  they 
always  play  the  night  the  steamer  comes  in,  and  have  a 
little  randy-vow  at  the  hotel." 

[22] 


MEETING  WALTER 

The  building  was  large,  with  deep,  wide  verandas, 
screened  in  with  brilliant  creepers.  The  additions  built 
on  gave  the  irregular  homely  look  of  a  place  that  had 
grown  with  the  needs  of  the  people.  There  were  many 
carriages  drawn  up  before  the  wide  steps.  Florence 
looked  out  hoping  to  see  Mr.  Sprague,  but  though  she 
recognized  a  number  of  her  fellow  passengers  among 
the  people  who  were  coming  and  going  on  the  veranda 
and  about  the  entrance,  he  was  not  there. 

"I  don't  like  to  get  down  in  all  that  crowd,  Mr. 
Quinn,"  she  said. 

"Right  you  are,  miss,  I  should  have  thought  of 
that,  myself.  We'll  just  go  around  to  the  other  side." 
And  he  turned  into  a  road  that  curved  about  the  hotel, 
drawing  rein  at  another  entrance.  A  young  man  came 
running  down  the  steps  to  meet  the  carriage.  It  was 
not  the  person  she  expected  to  see,  but  Florence  was 
glad  enough  to  recognize  Lieutenant  Todd,  who  helped 
her  out. 

"I've  been  watching  for  you,"  he  said,  "from  the 
upstairs  veranda." 

Danny's  fare  was  twenty-five  cents,  which  Florence 
held  up  to  him  with  a  trembling  hand. 

"You've  been  very  kind,  Mr.  Quinn,"  she  said, 
"  I'm  much  obliged  to  you." 

"Come  upstairs,"  said  Mr.  Todd,  "it's  cool  and 
[23] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

pleasantly  refreshing  there,  and  no  people  about,  so 
we  can  wait  very  comfortably." 

Florence  followed  the  young  man  up  the  broad 
stairs,  through  cool,  darkened  corridors,  out  upon  the 
veranda,  where  he  pushed  a  rocking-chair  to  a  corner 
shaded  by  yellow  creepers  and  the  green  tops  of  giant 
bamboo. 

"Mr.  Todd!"  cried  Florence  desperately,  "where 
is  Mr.  Sprague  ?  He  said  he  would  be  here  to  meet  me. 
I  can't  understand  it." 

"  Oh,"  said  Hammy,  "  Mr.  Sprague,  of  course  — 
well,  he  wasn't  very  well  last  night  — " 

"Is  he  ill?"  asked  Florence;  "is  anything  the 
matter?" 

"No,  no,"  stammered  Hammy,  "there  is  nothing 
the  matter  with  him." 

"He  wrote  that  he  was  witness  in  a  lawsuit  or 
something,"  said  Florence.  "But  even  then  he  should 
have  sent  some  one  to  meet  me.  The  wife  of  the  Ameri- 
can Consul  — " 

"Mr.  Burney  is  a  bachelor,"  said  Hammy,  talking 
quickly.  "A  most  estimable  man,  though  at  present 
unmarried.  His  manners  are  somewhat  uncouth, 
certainly,  but  I  have  heard  him  described  as  a  rough 
diamond.  He  wears  a  linen  duster  —  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  hear  about  Mr.  Burney,  I  want  to 
[24] 


MEETING  WALTER 

hear  about  Mr.  Sprague.  You  are  keeping  something 
from  me,  Mr.  Todd.  Has  there  been  an  accident?  Is 
he  hurt?" 

There  were  several  rooms  opening  out  upon  the 
veranda  where  they  sat.  Before  one  door  was  a  large 
Japanese  screen.  A  curious  sound  came  from  behind 
it  of  people  angrily  expostulating  in  whispers.  Mr. 
Todd  raised  his  voice  in  some  irritation  and  went  on: 

"But  I  was  telling  you,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  he 
floundered,  "  I  was  about  to  explain  to  you,  when  you 
interrupted  me ;  just  when  I  was  describing  the  manners 
and  customs  of  —  er  —  our  American  Consul  — " 

A  chair  overturned  in  the  room  noisily,  and  a  voice 
was  heard  to  say : 

"  I  will  speak  to  lady  —  my  lovely  bride! " 

Florence  jumped  to  her  feet.  "What  is  that!"  she 
cried. 

The  Japanese  screen  fell  forward  with  a  crash,  dis- 
closing three  hot,  perspiring  young  men,  locked  to- 
gether in  what  appeared  at  first  to  be  a  sort  of  wrestling- 
match.  At  sight  of  the  girl,  standing  transfixed  with 
horror  and  indignation,  two  of  the  men  drew  off  a 
step,  cruelly  embarrassed,  while  the  third  swayed 
unsteadily  for  a  moment  and  then  dropped  into  a  chair. 
In  spite  of  his  pale  face,  his  bloodshot  eyes,  and  wildly 
dishevelled  hair,  Florence  recognized  her  intended 

[25] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

husband,  Walter  Sprague.  His  white  duck  clothes  were 
crumpled,  he  wore  no  collar,  and  his  friends  had  evi- 
dently been  helping  him  into  his  coat  when  the  screen 
fell.  He  held  out  his  arms  toward  Florence  and  tried 
to  rise. 

"My  bride!"  he  said  thickly,  "kiss  me,  my 
sweet  — " 

One  of  the  young  men  pushed  him  back  into  the 
chair. 

"  I  give  you  my  word,  Florence  — "  He  was  evidently 
making  a  tremendous  effort.  "I  have  been  extremely 
unwell.  I  have  a  weakness  of  the  heart;  I  had  a  bad 
attack  this  morning.  Didn't  want  to  distress  you,  but 
it's  all  right  now.  Married  this  evening  —  'Merican 
Consulate,  rooms  engaged.  Come  and  kiss  me,  my 
dearest  one." 

Lieutenant  Todd  was  fairly  trembling  with  em- 
barrassment and  agitation.  The  two  young  men,  who 
were  quite  sober,  had  evidently  acted  the  parts  of  good 
Samaritans,  and  were  deeply  regretting  it. 

Florence  stood  looking  wildly  at  them,  her  hands 
clasped  tightly  against  her  breast.  She  drew  in  her 
breath  with  a  little  gasp,  and  a  quiver  crossed  her 
face  as  though  she  were  wincing  from  a  series  of 
threatened  blows.  She  made  an  inarticulate  sound  in 
her  throat  and  glanced  appealingly  at  Hammy. 

[26] 


MEETING  WALTER 

"He  will  not  appear  at  such  a  disadvantage,"  said 
Mr.  Todd,  "  when  he's  —  he's  recovered.  You  shouldn't 
judge  him  now,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  really.  You  know  the 
ship  was  expected  yesterday  and  he  was  going  to  be 
married  to-day,  and  his  friends  invited  him  to  partake 
of  spirits.  I  partook  myself,"  he  added  honestly,  his 
face  suffused  with  crimson,  "  anybody  would  partake 
under  the  circumstances." 

"You  talk  like  a  damned  missionary,"  cried  Mr. 
Sprague,  "with  your  partaking  and  partooking.  I  got 
drunk,  Florence,  that's  the  truth.  Give  you  my  word 
it  never  happened  in  my  life  before.  I'd  have  been  all 
right  only  my  head  ached  this  morning  and  I  took  a 
milk-punch.  Punch  increases  the  heart's  action,  and 
I  give  you  my  word  — " 

"  Don't  —  don't  talk  to  me  — "  cried  Florence. 

Here,  to  the  consternation  of  the  other  men,  Mr. 
Sprague  burst  into  tears.  He  was  a  slender  man,  with 
a  drooping  black  moustache,  and  full,  heavy-lidded 
black  eyes.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  he  might 
have  laid  claim  to  a  certain  amount  of  good  looks ;  but 
pale,  tearful,  with  no  collar,  his  black  hair  plastered  to 
his  forehead  and  hanging  into  his  eyes,  he  was  an 
object  of  pity. 

"  Don't  go  back  on  me,  Florence,"  he  sobbed.  "  You 
are  my  lode-star.  I've  got  the  house  all  ready.  I  can't 

[27] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

go  back  there  alone  —  I  couldn't  face  the  boys.  Can't 
you  see,  yourself,  it's  your  duty  to  go  ?  You  promised 
and  you  ought  to  keep  your  promise.  Oh ! "  he  cried, 
weeping  afresh,  "you  are  my  lode-star!"  He  wagged 
his  head  from  side  to  side,  dolefully  mopping  his  swollen 
eyes. 

"Oh,  take  him  away!"  cried  Florence  desperately. 
"Mr.  Todd,  take  him  away!" 

Hammy  brightened  up  at  the  prospect  of  definite 
action. 

"He  shall  not  stay  here  a  minute  longer,"  he  said. 
"  We  will  get  him  away  at  once." 

The  two  men  nodded  significantly. 

"Come,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  said  Hammy,  taking 
her  by  the  arm  and  leading  her  into  the  corridor.  "I 
am  going  to  engage  a  room  for  you  —  you  go  there  and 
rest." 

"Florence!  My  bride!"  cried  Mr.  Sprague,  stagger- 
ing to  his  feet.  "  Hear  me  —  I  give  you  my  word  — " 

The  two  young  men  thrust  him  violently  back  into 
his  chair. 

"Don't  pay  any  attention  to  him,"  said  Hammy. 
"  You  are  going  to  lie  down  in  your  room  and  rest." 

"  But  I  cannot,"  said  Florence.  "  He  might  come  and 
try  to  speak  to  me ! " 

"Stay  here  a  minute,"  said  Hammy,  in  the  masculine 
[28] 


MEETING  WALTER 

voice  of  authority.  The  girl  instinctively  obeyed,  cow- 
ering back  in  the  corner  of  the  hall.  He  returned  in  a 
moment,  followed  by  a  Chinaman  carrying  a  key. 
Hammy  spoke  more  directly  under  the  stress  of  action. 

"Come  along,"  he  said.  "I  have  engaged  number 
forty-seven  —  quiet  little  room.  Here  it  is  —  Lee  will 
show  it  to  you." 

"You  are  so  good,"  said  Florence.  "I  can't  thank 
you  —  but  oh !  I'm  so  frightened  —  what  if  Mr. 
Sprague  refuses  to  go  ?  " 

"He'll  go,  all  right,"  said  Hammy.  "Don't  you 
worry  about  that." 

"  But  he  might  come  back." 

"I  have  an  idea! "  said  Hammy.  "You  go  in  and  lie 
down,  and  when  I  have  him  safely  off  the  premises  and 
there  is  no  danger  of  his  returning,  I  will  come  to  your 
door  and  knock  four  times.  You  needn't  answer.  It's 
just  a  signal  to  relieve  your  mind.  Now,  Lee,  you  look 
after  this  young  lady.  Good-bye,  and  don't  worry. 
Oh  -  "  he  ran  back,  "  what  about  your  trunks  ?  " 

"I  forgot  all  about  them,"  said  Florence,  "and  my 
valise  is  on  the  ship.  But  don't  trouble  about  them, 
Mr.  Todd.  I  don't  care  about  them  at  all.  I  don't  care 
about  anything.  I  never,  never  want  to  see  that  man 
again  and  I  don't  know  where  my  keys  are  — " 

"  I'll  get  your  trunks,"  said  Hammy.  "  No  custom- 
[29] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

house  here.  I'll  send  them  up  at  once,  but  I  promise 
you  I  won't  do  a  thing  till  Mr.  Sprague  is  disposed  of. 
I  will  personally  supervise  that  business  myself.  I  leave 
you  to  Lee,"  and  he  went  off  briskly  down  the  stairs. 

The  Chinaman  unlocked  the  corner  room  and 
showed  Florence  in. 

"Welly  nice,"  he  said.  "Bath  loom  closs  hall.  Lil 
piece  velanda  belong  you." 

Florence  waited  for  him  to  go,  repressing  her  im- 
patience, while  he  hung  a  blue  hammock  from  stout 
hooks  in  the  veranda  posts,  pulled  out  a  rocking-chair 
and  arranged  a  Japanese  screen  to  his  liking.  She 
forced  herself  to  smile  and  nod,  when  he  looked  to 
her  for  approval.  She  watched  his  white-robed  figure 
moving  reluctantly  down  the  hall  and  then,  turning 
into  the  hot,  darkened  room  filled  with  a  strange 
perfume,  she  threw  herself  on  the  bed,  crying  as  she  had 
not  cried  since  she  was  a  child. 

There  was  the  sound  of  a  step  in  the  corridor  and 
then,  on  the  door  close  beside  her,  came  four  distinct 
knocks. 


[30] 


CHAPTER  THREE 

A  New  Friend 

FLORENCE  was  aroused  from  a  deep  sleep  of  fa- 
tigue and  exhausted  nerves,  by  the  arrival  of  her 
valise  and  three  trunks.  She  looked  on,  bewildered 
and  half -awake,  while  Lee  turned  on  the  electric  lights, 
helped  bring  in  the  trunks,  paid  the  porters,  and  then 
asked  about  dinner.  It  was  long  past  the  hour.  He  had 
tapped  at  her  door  several  times,  but  there  was  no 
answer. 

"I  don't  want  anything  to  eat,  thank  you,"  said 
Florence. 

She  had  thought  for  a  moment,  on  waking,  that 
she  was  back  again  in  her  old  room  at  home,  on  the 
California  ranch ;  but  the  unaccustomed  heat,  the  heavy 
perfume  and  the  Chinaman's  voice,  brought  her  back 
to  reality. 

"You  take  bath,"  said  Lee  encouragingly. "Plenty  cold 
water.  Bye-and-bye  you  feel  better.  I  bring  you  velly  nice, 
lil  dinner.  I  come  back  pretty  soon  •  now  you  hully  up. " 

[31] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

When  Lee  returned,  laden  with  a  large  tray,  he  found 
Florence  much  refreshed,  though  still  very  pale.  He 
drew  up  a  little  table  by  the  hammock  on  the  veranda 
where  he  laid  out  her  meal.  An  alligator  pear  with  may- 
onnaise, broiled  pigeon  on  toast,  a  glass  of  iced-tea,  and  a 
dish  of  fruit. 

"  More  better  you  stop  here, "  said  Lee.  "  Too  muchee 
talk  downstairs.  Honolulu  too  muchee  talk. " 

Even  the  Chinaman  knew  her  miserable  story. 

"  Missy  Splague  come  here  I  nick  him  down  stairs, " 
said  Lee  valiantly. 

"  Never  mind,  Lee, "  she  answered,  but  all  the  same 
his  friendliness  was  cheering.  In  California  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  Chinese  servants  from  her  childhood,  and 
it  seemed  homelike  to  hear  the  pidgin  English. 

He  busied  himself  on  the  veranda,  lighting  a  number 
of  coloured  lanterns  that  swung  from  a  line  between  the 
posts,  and  then  came  back  to  remove  the  tray. 

"Band  consit  to-night,"  he  said.  "You  look  over 
velanda,  see  plenty  people. "  He  turned  down  the  lights 
in  her  room.  "You  look  out  see  everybolly;  nobolly  see 
you. " 

The  young  girl  sighed.  There  must  be  a  great  deal  of 
gossip  abroad  to  make  Lee  so  solicitous.  She  drew  her 
chair  close  to  the  railing,  pushing  back  a  long  branch, 
heavy  with  waxen- white  stephanotis,  and  looked  down 

[32] 


A  NEW  FRIEND 

into  the  garden  sparkling  with  lanterns  and  Hawaiian 
torches.  There  were  green  benches  under  the  palms; 
here  the  humbler  class  —  sailors,  native  men  and  girls 
—  were  already  congregating.  Carriage  after  carriage 
rolled  up  to  the  entrance  of  the  hotel.  Florence  could  see 
the  people  getting  out  in  the  full  glare  of  the  electric 
light,  the  men  in  evening  dress  and  straw  hats,  the 
women  in  muslins  and  lace,  without  wraps.  They  all 
seemed  to  know  one  another  very  well,  talking  and 
laughing,  and  calling  out  in  English  and  Hawaiian  as 
they  had  done  at  the  wharf. 

Suddenly  the  band  began  to  play.  She  could  see  the 
musicians  plainly,  broad-shouldered,  stout  Hawaiian 
men  in  white  uniforms  and  brass  buttons.  The  leader, 
evidently  a  German  from  his  sweeping  yellow  mous- 
tache and  whiskers,  waved  his  baton  with  a  firm  air  of 
command.  Florence  expected  to  hear  the  notes  of  a  vil- 
lage band,  and  was  startled  by  the  noble  burst  of  har- 
mony that  swelled  from  the  little  kiosk.  The  piece  they 
were  playing  was  evidently  a  native  air,  with  a 
simple,  tender  melody  and  strongly-marked  rhythm.  In 
the  garden  below,  the  lamps  and  torches  lit  up 
the  flower  beds  and  winding  paths,  where  sailors  in 
white  uniforms  mingled  with  groups  of  native  girls, 
dressed  in  gowns  of  brilliant  blue,  yellow  and  crim- 
son; from  the  veranda  came  little  bursts  of  laughter, 

[S3] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

and  at  every  pause  of  the  music  the  clatter  of  voices 
burst  forth  anew. 

Florence  leaned  her  head  on  her  clasped  hands  and 
thought  of  her  home  in  California,  the  old  ranch  house 
that  she  had  known  from  her  earliest  childhood.  She  re- 
called, in  a  passion  of  homesickness,  the  peace  and 
beauty  of  Glen  Una,  the  aromatic  air,  redolent  of  pine; 
the  grapes  growing  on  the  hillside ;  the  plums  lying  thick 
as  a  purple  carpet  under  the  trees. 

Suddenly  the  Japanese  screen  moved  aside,  and  Mrs. 
Landry  burst  in,  sparkling  from  head  to  foot  in  span- 
gled silver  net.  Her  too  yellow  hair  elaborately  coiled 
and  puffed  was  held  in  place  by  numerous  jewelled  pins. 
Her  glittering  gown  fell  into  the  obviously  graceful  lines 
of  a  well-done  fashion  plate. 

"  Oh,  you  poor  child ! "  she  cried.  "  I  tried  my  best  to 
get  here  earlier,  but  I  simply  couldn't  tear  myself  away. 
Wasn't  it  awful?" 

"  Wasn't  what  awful  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"  Why,  you,  of  course  —  and  Mr.  Sprague.  You 
needn't  look  so  horrified.  I  told  you  there  were  no  secrets 
in  the  tropics.  I  think  he  treated  you  shamefully.  " 

"  But  how  did  you  hear  about  it  ?  "  asked  Florence  in 
dismay. 

"  My  dear,  the  whole  town  is  ringing  with  it.  But  you 
are  well  rid  of  him.  Hammy's  outside  —  can  he  come  in  ? 

[34] 


A  NEW  FRIEND 

Come  in,  Woolly, "  she  cried,  "  here's  Miss  Van  Voorhis, 
moping  in  the  dark. " 

Lieutenant  Todd  appeared  and  shook  hands  as 
though  he  were  meeting  Florence  for  the  first  time. 

"  You  needn't  look  so  embarrassed, "  commented  the 
widow.  "  You  surely  oughtn't  to  be  afraid  of  Miss  Van 
Voorhis  after  what  happened  this  afternoon.  You  lost  no 
time  in  telling  about  it,  any  way. " 

Hammy  gasped.  "  Telling ! "  he  cried.  "  I  never  did. 
.  .  .  I  would  be  incapable  of  such  a  ...  oh, 
Miss  Van  Voorhis  ..." 

The  widow  laughed  maliciously.  "  Never  trust  a  naval 
officer, "  she  said.  "  I  know  'em.  They're  just  a  pack  of 
old  women." 

"  But,  honestly,  Miss  Van  Voorhis, "  he  said,  seriously 
distressed. 

"Oh,  well!  If  you  didn't  tell,  Willis  and  Lance  cer- 
tainly did.  They  said  they  held  up  the  poor  man  while 
you  and  Florence  pitched  into  him.  Danny  Quinn's 
been  saying  how  shameful  it  was  there  was  no  one  to 
meet  the  beautiful  young  liddy  but  that  no-account 
naval  officer,  and  Lee  told  the  Bonner  girls  that  he 
would  'nick*  Mr.  Sprague  off  the  veranda.  Oh,  my 
dear!  You'll  have  to  brace  up  to  it,  and  the  sooner 
the  better. " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  demanded  Florence. 
[35] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Everybody's  downstairs  now, "  said  the  widow.  "  It's 
better  to  see  them  in  a  bunch  than  by  driblets.  " 

"Do  you  mean  that  you  want  me  to  meet  all  those 
strange  people  ?  I  could  not. " 

"  But  I  feel  responsible  for  you, "  said  Mrs.  Landry. 
"  You  are  in  my  charge.  Now,  if  you  follow  my  advice 
you'll  sail  downstairs,  and  get  acquainted  with  every- 
body. I'll  introduce  you  to  all  my  Woolly  Horses. " 

"Please  don't  ask  me,"  said  Florence  decisively. 
"  I  am  quite  comfortable  here,  by  myself.  Go  down  and 
dance,  and  don't  worry  about  me. " 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Landry  cheerfully,  "if  you  will 
have  it  so,  we'll  look  you  up  later.  Come,  my  hero, ' '  and 
she  rustled  and  tinkled  down  the  hall,  followed  by 
Hammy. 

Until  that  moment  Florence  had,  unconsciously,  de- 
pended upon  Mrs.  Landry.  She  had  been  put  under 
that  lady's  protection,  and,  naturally,  when  trouble 
came,  had  looked  to  her  for  help.  But  the  pretty,  silken 
reed  bent  at  the  lightest  touch,  and  now  she  felt  more 
desolately  alone  than  ever.  She  felt  the  need,  at  that 
moment,  of  a  woman  friend. 

The  screen  that  had  shut  in  the  corner  of  the  veranda 
remained  thrust  aside,  as  Mrs.  Landry  had  left  it,  and 
Florence  saw  Mr.  Todd  approaching  from  a  distance, 
followed  by  a  short,  plump  lady  in  a  trailing,  grey  silk, 

[36] 


A  NEW  FRIEND 

that  hung  in  straight,  soft  folds  from  the  shoulder,  in  the 
native  fashion. 

"  Miss  Van  Voorhis, "  said  Hammy,  "  I  hope  you  will 
pardon  me  if  I  am  taking  a  liberty.  But  I  would  like  to 
present  to  you  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  Mrs.  Ross. 
Mrs.  Ross,  Miss  Van  Voorhis.  I  —  ah  —  I  am  sure  two 
such  charming  ladies  should  know  one  another. " 

Mrs.  Ross  sank  smiling  into  the  chair  that  Hammy 
drew  up  beside  Florence. 

"  Go  back  to  the  dance,  Mr.  Todd, "  she  said,  "  and 
tell  Emma  where  to  find  me.  " 

The  stranger  spoke  in  a  soft,  foreign  voice,  very  musi- 
cal and  low.  The  shimmer  of  her  grey  silk  matched  the 
colour  of  her  hair  that  showed,  thickly  curling,  under  a 
white  lace  scarf.  Although  very  dark  and  evidently  half 
or  a  quarter  Hawaiian,  her  eyes  were  a  bright  blue. 

Florence  had  dreaded  meeting  any  of  the  Honolulu 
people,  though  she  had  not  really  believed  Mrs.  Lan- 
dry's  pleasantries  about  the  island  gossip.  She  received 
Mrs.  Ross  somewhat  formally,  and  listened  to  her  talk 
in  a  cold  silence  that  in  no  way  disconcerted  her  visitor. 
In  five  minutes  Florence  learned  that  she  was  a  widow; 
that  she  had  a  son  in  America;  that  she  was  descended 
from  the  Kamehamehas,  and  that  she  had  a  niece 
named  Emma. 

"She's  downstairs  dancing  now,"  she  went  on.  "I 
[37] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

came  to  chaperon  her.  Mr.  Todd  told  me  that  you  were 
sitting  up  here  alone,  and  I  knew  that  you  had  just  ar- 
rived and  were  a  stranger  in  Honolulu,  so  I  begged  him 
to  let  me  come  up  and  talk  to  you.  " 

"You  are  very  good." 

The  music  began  again,  a  wild  barbaric  theme  with 
a  strangely  familiar  melody  running  through  it. 

"  I  almost  seem  to  know  what  it  is  they  are  playing, " 
said  Florence. 

"  It's  Hawaiian  music, "  Mrs.  Ross  explained  "  But 
they  always  get  some  bit  of  an  old  hymn  the  mission- 
aries brought  here  and  weave  it  in  with  their  own 
music.  Doesn't  the  band  play  well  ?  We  were  so  lonely 
when  they  went  away. " 

"Who?"  asked  Florence. 

"  The  band  boys.  They  are  men,  of  course,  but  every- 
body calls  them  the  band  boys.  They  went  up  to  San 
Francisco  to  compete  in  some  big  musical  affair,  and  we 
were  so  proud  for  they  won  the  prize.  Mr.  Berger,  he's  the 
leader,  you  know,  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  them, 
they  were  so  popular.  They  kept  giving  away  their  but- 
tons for  souvenirs,  and  people  treated  them  to  drinks, 
and  when  they  got  their  money  they'd  hand  it  over  to 
beggars  and  tramps.  Mr.  Kuniakia,  a  cousin  of  mine, 
plays  the  cornet,  and  he  told  me  such  pajthetic  stories 
about  poor  people  in  your  country.  He  said  many  and 

[38] 


A  NEW  FRIEND 

many  a  time  he  had  given  a  man  a  quarter  just  for  a 
place  to  sleep.  And  it  seemed  so  sad  to  him  not  to  see  any 
cocoanut  trees.  He  told  me  he  walked  miles  and  miles, 
and  didn't  find  one." 

"  But  they  don't  grow  in  California. " 

"  Yes,  I  know.  That's  what  makes  it  so  hard  for  the 
poor  people.  For,  if  you  are  really  hungry,  you  can  al- 
ways eat  cocoanuts. " 

The  music  suddenly  changed  from  a  melodious  waltz 
into  the  bold,  serious  notes  of  an  anthem.  There  was 
the  sound  of  a  general  scraping  of  chairs  on  the  lower 
veranda. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Florence. 

"The  King,"  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "Everybody  is  stand- 
ing." 

"  Is  that  the  National  air  they  are  playing  ?  " 

"Yes.  Hawaii  Ponoii — Hawaii  Forever.  It's  grand, 
isn't  it?" 

"I  never  saw  a  king,"  said  Florence.  "Is  he  nice 
looking  ?  "  She  was  beginning  to  like  her  friendly  visitor. 

"  Oh,  my  dear! "  she  answered.  "  He  is  magnificent ! 
Of  course  he  isn't  a  Kamehameha.  The  reigning  family 
was  extinct  when  Queen  Emma's  little  boy  died.  I  am 
descended  from  Kamehameha  by  a  collateral  branch. 
My  grandfather  was  never  addressed  by  any  title  but 
Alii;  that  means  chief,  you  know. " 

[39] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  It  is  very  interesting, "  said  Florence. 

"You  see,"  Mrs.  Ross  went  on,  "when  the  little 
prince  died,  Queen  Emma  his  mother  was  Regent,  but, 
as  she  was  not  of  royal  blood  the  people  did  not  want  her 
for  a  ruler.  Then  they  had  a  general  election,  just  as  you 
have  in  the  United  States.  It  was  between  Kalakaua,  a 
young  prince  of  good  family,  and  the  ex-Queen  Emma.  It 
was  awfully  exciting.  After  Kalakaua  was  elected  king, 
he  and  Queen  Emma  never  met  or  spoke  to  each  other, 
though  it  was  years  ago,  until  last  Thursday  on  the  Paw- 
tucket.  I  was  there  myself  and  saw  it. " 

"Do  tell  me  about  it,"  said  Florence,  now  entirely 
won  over  by  the  kindly  half-white. 

"  Well,  you  know,  Honolulu  people  had  always  been 
careful  not  to  invite  them  both  to  the  same  entertain- 
ment. Or,  if  Queen  Emma  was  asked,  she  was  always 
told,  delicately  of  course,  that  the  King  was  coming,  and 
so  she  stayed  away.  But  the  Pawtucket  people  didn't 
understand  island  politics,  and  asked  them  both. 
Everybody  in  town  was  there,  and  all  the  officers  from 
the  other  ships.  They  had  arranged  a  throne  on  the 
quarter  deck  with  flags  and  things,  the  way  they  al- 
ways do,  and  of  course,  we  knew  the  King  was  ex- 
pected. Imagine  our  feelings  when  we  saw  Queen 
Emma  coming  over  the  side !  She  was  given  a  seat  beside 
the  throne,  and  we  all  waited.  Of  course,  we  told  the 

[40] 


A  NEW  FRIEND 

officers  of  the  Pawtucket  and  they  were  frightened 
to  death.  Nobody  knew  what  was  going  to  happen.  Then 
we  saw  the  royal  boat  coming,  and  the  salute  began 
banging  away.  His  Majesty  walked  slowly  up  the  deck, 
and  everybody  bowed. "  Mrs.  Ross  rose  to  her  feet  to  act 
the  story  as  she  talked,  assuming  the  urbane  smile  of  the 
King  and  the  respectful  homage  of  the  people.  "  We  all 
watched  him  going  up  the  companion-way  to  the 
quarter  deck.  Queen  Emma  was  standing  like  this,  very 
straight  and  haughty,  with  ropes  of  jessamine  looped  in 
her  hair.  We  saw  the  King  walk  up  to  her  and  hold  out 
his  hand.  She  gave  him  hers.  We  could  not  hear  what 
they  said,  but  instead  of  taking  the  throne  himself  he  led 
her  to  it.  She  hesitated  a  moment  while  we  all  held  our 
breaths  and  then,  when  she  took  the  seat,  he  bowed  low 
before  her,  like  this,  and  I  declare,  we  all  said  after- 
wards we  felt  like  applauding. " 

"  How  splendid  of  him ! "  cried  Florence.  "  That  was 
like  a  king.  I  wish  I  could  see  him. " 

Mrs.  Ross  jumped  up.  "Come  on,  now,"  she  said, 
*  and  I  will  introduce  you.  " 

"  No,  no !  "   Florence  drew  back. 

"  Oh,  of  course!"  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "  How  stupid  of  me. 
I  knew  you  couldn't  under  the  circumstances.  " 

Florence  caught  her  breath.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 
she  said,  rising. 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Oh!"  Mrs.  Ross  was  visibly  flustered.  "I  — noth- 
ing —  only  —  about  Mr.  Sprague,  you  know. " 

"  Does  everybody  know  my  affairs  ?  "  cried  the  young 
girl  passionately. 

"  No  —  no,  only  the  American  Consul  told  me  —  " 

Florence  had  been  choking  back  her  tears  with  diffi- 
culty. She  suddenly  began  to  laugh.  "The  Chinaman 
said —  "  she  gasped,  "the  two  young  men,  the  Am- 
erican Consul  —  "  and  then,  with  an  hysterical  cry 
that  was  drowned  in  the  clash  of  music,  she  fell  back  in 
her  chair. 

Mrs.  Ross  caught  her,  laid  her  on  the  floor,  and  ran 
for  water.  She  sprinkled  Florence's  face,  unfastened  her 
dress,  put  a  pillow  under  her  head,  all  the  while  heaping 
maledictions  on  herself  for  a  blundering,  stupid  fool  and 
calling  Florence  many  sweet  Hawaiian  names  of  en- 
dearment. Then  she  sat  down  beside  her  on  the  matting 
and  began  gently  clawing  her  arms  and  shoulders  like 
an  amiable  cat. 

"What  are  you  doing?"  asked  Florence  faintly. 

"  Giving  you  a  lomi-lomi  — I  think  they  call  it  *  mas- 
sage' in  English  —  but  it  isn't  the  same  thing.  It  quiets 
the  nerves. " 

The  petting  of  the  plump,  little  hands,  the  sympathy 
that  she  had  craved,  the  gentle,  feminine  influence  soon 
restored  Florence  to  calmness. 

[42] 


A  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I'm  ashamed  of  myself,  Mrs.  Ross, "  she  murmured. 
"  But  I've  been  upset.  It  has  been  a  terrible  day  —  " 

"  I  know,  I  know, "  said  the  good  creature.  "  It  was  all 
my  fault.  I'm  so  stupid.  Don't  mind  me.  I  didn't  mean 
to  hurt  you.  I  could  have  bitten  my  tongue  out  for  say- 
ing a  word. " 

"  You're  so  good, "  said  Florence,  and,  laying  her  head 
on  the  grey-silk  lap  she  cried  quietly  while  Mrs.  Ross 
tenderly  picked  the  hairpins  out  of  her  hair. 


[43] 


CHAPTER  FOUR 

The  Ross  Family 

IT  was  late  that  night  before  Mrs.  Ross  went  home. 
She  had  put  Florence  to  bed   like  a  tired  child 
and  then  sat  by  her  side,   patting  her  arm  and 
shoulder  with  the    soothing   lomi-lomi.    It  was   then 
that    the    last   of    Florence's    reserve    melted    away 
and   she  poured    out    her    heart    to    the  kind   little 
Hawaiian. 

She  told  her  of  the  prune  ranch  in  the  Santa  Clara 
Valley  where  her  mother  died,  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood that  was  a  home  no  more,  for  it  had  been  given 
over  to  the  superintendent  to  live  in.  He  had  repainted 
and  repapered  it  out  of  all  semblance  to  the  place 
she  had  loved  so  well. 

She  told  of  the  lonely  year  in  San  Francisco  after  her 
mother's  death,  when  she  had  lived  with  her  father  at 
a  hotel.  He  was  a  busy  man,  engaged  in  some  kind  of 
shipping  business  she  did  not  understand;  the  prune 
ranch  was  only  one  of  his  many  interests.  The  life  had 

[44] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

been  so  lonely,  that  she  tried  visiting  relations  in  South- 
ern California,  but  the  dreariness  of  that  was  beyond 
words,  and  she  was  glad  to  get  back  to  the  privacy 
of  her  corner  room  at  the  hotel.  She  would  have  gone 
on  to  talk  of  Mr.  Sprague  and  the  difficulties  of  her 
present  position  but  Mrs.  Ross  considerately  led  the 
conversation  away  from  agitating  subjects,  and  wan- 
dered on  to  stories  of  her  own  youth,  when  she  had 
known  and  loved  Prince  Lunalilo.  His  death  had  cast 
a  gentle  sadness  over  her  life,  and  she  loved  to  talk 
of  him  and  tell  stories  of  his  gaiety  and  humour  and 
popularity.  At  his  death  he  had  been  buried  with  chiefly 
honours  and  the  firing  of  guns.  Many  years  after,  when 
the  Royal  Mausoleum  was  built  they  carried  his  body  to 
lie  with  the  other  descendants  of  Kamehameha,  and 
begged  the  authorities  for  another  salute  of  twenty- 
one  guns  which  was  refused.  But  Heaven  remembered, 
and  when  the  body  of  the  beloved  Prince  was  carried 
up  Nuanu  Valley,  a  great  storm  arose,  and  the  thun- 
der pealed  twenty-one  times. 

Mrs.  Ross  had  been  maid  of  honour  to  Queen  Emma 
when  Kamehameha  IV.  was  king;  she  described  the 
court  life  of  those  days,  the  great  doings  when  the  Duke 
of  Edinburgh  paid  his  famous  visit  to  Honolulu  in 
his  own  man-of-war;  the  compliments  he  paid  to  the 
beautiful  Hawaiians,  the  dances,  the  flirtations;  prat- 

[45] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

tling  on  in  her  soft  foreign  voice,  gently  and  soothingly, 
till  the  young  girl  fell  asleep. 

The  next  morning  Mrs.  Ross  came  again  to  see  her 
new  friend  and  sat  patiently  swinging  in  the  hammock, 
waiting  for  her  to  wake.  A  light  breeze,  salt  from  the 
sea,  rustled  the  leaves  and  shook  out  the  scent  from  the 
clusters  of  stephanotis. 

It  was  the  voice  of  Mrs.  Ross,  singing  softly  to  her- 
self in  Hawaiian,  that  finally  awoke  Florence  to  her  new 
surroundings. 

"  Why,  Mrs.  Ross ! "  she  cried.  "  How  good  of  you ! 
I  dreaded  this  morning  —  to  wake  and  find  myself 
alone  in  a  strange  place." 

"That's  why  I'm  here,  my  dear,"  said  her  friend. 
"  You  are  to  come  to  my  house  and  breakfast  with  me, 
and  then  we  will  talk  over  all  our  problems." 

Florence  was  soon  dressed  and  was  surprised  to  find 
herself  almost  light-hearted.  She  put  on  one  of  her 
prettiest  gowns,  a  white  lawn  elaborately  befrilled  with 
ruffles  and  lace,  and  her  white  kid  shoes  with  the  silver 
buckles. 

"I  didn't  know  you  were  such  a  pretty  girl,"  said 
Mrs.  Ross,  looking  her  over  admiringly  as  they  started 
down  the  hall. 

At  the  head  of  the  stairs  they  met  two  tall  young 
women  talking  and  laughing  loudly.  They  were  dressed 

[46] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

in  smart,  well-fitting  divided  skirts,  with  neat  riding 
boots  and  wore  felt  hats  bound  with  leather  straps. 
Each  carried  a  silver-mounted  whip.  Mrs.  Ross  intro- 
duced them  as  the  Misses  Bonner  of  Kauai. 

"We're  in  town  on  business,"  said  the  elder  frankly, 
after  shaking  hands  in  a  boyish  fashion  with  Florence. 
"  Betty,  here,  is  selling  her  pigs,  and  I'm  looking  up  the 
Japanese  Commission  to  get  more  labourers  for  the 
plantation." 

They  were  tall  buxom  girls,  black-eyed  and  red- 
cheeked,  with  pleasant  sun-burnt  faces,  an  open-air 
breeziness  of  manner  and  smiles  of  engaging  imperti- 
nence. They  looked  enough  alike  to  be  twins,  and  as 
they  swaggered  down  the  stairs,  clicking  their  boot 
heels,  and  swishing  their  riding  whips,  Florence  noticed 
that  they  wore  their  hair  in  longer  braids  than  she  had 
ever  seen  out  of  an  advertisement.  If  one  started  a 
sentence  the  other  finished  it,  or  they  both  talked  at 
once  in  their  loud,  cheerful  voices. 

"  We've  just  come  in  the  nick  of  time,"  said  Polly  the 
eldest. 

"  To  take  in  all  the  gaieties  — "  supplemented  Betty. 

"  We'll  stay  over  for  Rex's  ball  — " 

"  And  the  dance  on  the  Mohawk  — " 

And  then  together — "There's  a  lot  of  other  things 
beside!" 

[47] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

As  the  party  passed  the  hotel  desk  the  clerk  handed 
Florence  a  letter. 

"The  messenger  has  been  waiting  for  an  answer," 
said  the  man,  "  ever  since  eight  o'clock  this  morning, 
and  it's  after  ten  now." 

Florence  hesitated. 

"Teh1  him  to  go  away,"  said  Mrs.  Ross  decisively. 
"Miss  Van  Voorhis  will  send  the  answer  from  my 
house." 

Out  on  the  gravelled  driveway  in  front  of  the  hotel 
a  native  man  was  holding,  with  difficulty,  a  pair  of 
restive  horses,  saddled  and  bridled.  They  were  hand- 
some animals,  and  Florence  looked  them  over  with 
interest.  Round  the  neck  of  each  horse  was  a  wreath 
of  marigolds. 

"Jolly  morning  for  a  gallop,  isn't  it?"  said  the 
younger  girl,  Betty.  "  I  wish  you  were  coming  with  us." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Florence,  "  I  love  to  ride." 

With  one  leap  they  were  sitting  astride  the  saddles, 
their  black  divided  skirts  falling  faultlessly,  without 
a  wrinkle,  on  either  side  of  the  horse.  Florence  rather 
suspected  them  of  showing  off,  for  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  rearing  and  prancing  and  pawing  the  air  before 
they  saluted,  cavalry  fashion,  wheeled  about  and  gal- 
loped away  with  a  thumping  of  hoofs  on  the  gravel 
road. 

[48] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

Florence  was  looking  after  them  a  little  enviously 
when  Mrs.  Ross  called  to  her  that  the  express  was 
waiting. 

"  Regular  island  girls,"  she  said,  talking  of  the  Misses 
Bonner,  as  they  took  their  seats  and  settled  back  for  a 
pleasant  morning  drive.  "Born  and  bred  on  Kauai. 
They  run  their  own  plantation ;  and  it's  a  big  paying 
concern." 

"  Those  two  young  girls  ?  " 

"Oh,  there  are  several  others,"  said  Mrs.  Ross, 
"  and  they  are  all  exactly  alike.  One  married  and  went 
off  to  America,  but  her  husband  died  within  a  year  and 
she  came  back  to  Kauai.  Another  one  went  for  a  trip 
abroad,  and  brought  back  a  foreign  husband.  No  one 
bothers  to  remember  her  married  name.  She's  just 
called  Milly  Bonner.  They  run  the  plantation  on  shares, 
and  I  guess  they  are  making  money,  for  sugar  is  up. 
That's  what  makes  Honolulu  so  gay  just  now,  it's 
always  lively  when  sugar  is  up." 

As  they  talked,  Florence  looked  out  upon  a  new  world 
of  vivid  colours,  sparkling  and  clear,  the  tall  moun- 
tains purple  against  a  deep  blue  sky.  She  unconsciously 
held  tightly  to  a  fold  of  Mrs.  Ross's  holaku. 

"It's  all  so  wonderful!"  she  said  enthusiastically, 
"  and  oh,  what  a  lovely,  lovely  place!  " 

"  This  is  my  home,"  said  Mrs.  Ross  complacently,  as 
[49] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

they  turned  into  a  gravelled  road,  shaded  by  royal  palms. 
On  all  sides  were  strange  looking  plants,  bushes  with 
sword-like  spikes,  variegated  leaves  in  crimson,  yellow 
and  green,  and  here  and  there,  throwing  their  shad- 
ows on  the  flower  beds,  were  great  trees  of  giant  bam- 
boo, blossoming  coffee,  tamarind  and  mango.  The 
rambling  one-storied  house  stood  far  back  in  the  garden 
on  a  slight  eminence.  A  scarlet-creeper  swept  like  a 
flame  almost  to  the  peak  of  the  roof,  enclosing  the  deep 
veranda  that  faced  the  street.  The  driveway  led  to  the 
side  entrance,  shaded  by  drooping  clusters  of  golden 
blossoms.  In  front  of  the  house,  sloping  down  to  the 
hibiscus  hedge,  were  flower  beds,  while  a  small  banana 
plantation  closed  in  the  back  premises. 

Mrs.  Ross  dismissed  the  carriage,  and  ushering  her 
guest  into  the  sitting-room,  went  off  in  search  of  Bella, 
the  Portuguese  servant. 

The  doors  and  windows  were  open,  in  the  hospitable 
island  fashion,  but  the  veranda  with  its  curtain  of 
Bouganvillia,  shut  off  the  light  so  that  the  room  seemed 
cool  and  refreshingly  dark  after  the  sunshine  outside. 
Florence  looked  curiously  about.  Against  the  wall  was 
a  glass  cabinet  containing  sea-shells,  Chinese  earrings, 
ivory  chess  men,  and  a  ship  in  a  glass  bottle.  A  piano 
stood  in  a  corner,  on  old-fashioned  carved  legs,  a  native 
mat,  with  worsted  work  around  the  edge,  draped  over 

[50] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

it.  Between  the  windows  was  a  singular  object,  some- 
thing like  an  immense  feather  duster,  with  an  exquis- 
itely carved  handle.  It  was  six  feet  high,  and  broad  in 
proportion,  the  feathery  part  composed  of  beautiful 
white  plumes.  Beside  this  was  a  large  glass  case,  cover- 
ing what  appeared  to  be  a  neatly  folded  cape,  made 
entirely  of  small  yellow  feathers  sewn  on  a  foundation, 
one  overlapping  the  other. 

Above  the  mantel,  two  enlarged  crayon  portraits 
decorated  the  wall,  one  of  a  mild-featured,  bald  gen- 
tleman with  whiskers,  the  other  evidently  Mrs.  Ross 
in  her  youth.  Even  the  smudgy  crayon  and  wavering 
lines  could  not  disguise  a  certain  comeliness  in  the  youth- 
ful face.  Between  the  portraits  were  innumerable  loops 
of  necklaces,  some  of  small  amber-coloured  sea-shells, 
others  of  scarlet  seeds,  hard  and  bright  as  coral.  The 
mantel  was  arranged  stiffly,  with  an  ornamental  gilt 
clock  flanked  by  photographs  in  frames,  and  a  pearl 
shell,  its  exquisite  surface  defaced  by  a  painting  of 
Diamond  Head.  The  furniture  was  well  worn;  the 
chairs  smooth  and  shiny  with  age,  and  over  all  there 
hung  the  faint  perfume  of  sandalwood. 

Mrs.  Ross  came  back,  apologizing  and  hospitable, 
followed  by  a  Portuguese  woman  carrying  a  tray.  Bella 
was  an  undersized  leather-coloured  person,  with  black 
braids  wound  about  a  bullet  head.  She  wore  a  stiffly- 

[51] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

hanging  holaku  of  large  black  and  white  squares  like 
a  checker-board,  so  short  that  it  disclosed  her  bare 
feet. 

She  set  out  a  small  table  on  the  veranda,  brought 
the  coffee  and  buttered  toast,  and  drew  up  two  chairs. 
Mrs.  Ross  and  Florence  breakfasted  in  the  pleasant 
shade,  looking  out  on  the  sunlit  flower  beds. 

"If  there's  one  thing  I  pride  myself  on,"  said  Mrs. 
Ross,  "  it's  my  coffee.  This  is  real  Kona,  grown  on  Wil- 
liam's plantation." 

"I  make  him,"  cried  Bella,  in  a  sudden  loud  voice. 
"  Too  muchee  good." 

"That'll  do,  go  to  the  kitchen!"  said  Mrs.  Ross 
crossly.  "I've  had  that  girl  for  years,"  she  went  on, 
"  but  she  never  seems  to  get  any  sense.  She's  physically 
incapable  of  learning  manners." 

"  She's  Portuguese,  isn't  she  ?  "  asked  Florence,  tak- 
ing another  slice  of  the  crisp,  hot  toast. 

"She  came  over  with  a  batch  of  emigrants  from 
Madeira,  that  were  imported  to  work  on  the  sugar 
plantations.  Of  course  they  all  brought  their  families 
along.  Bella's  father  died  on  the  way  out,  so  she  wasn't 
wanted  particularly  and  I  took  her.  She  breaks  every- 
thing she  lays  her  hands  on,  and  if  I  don't  keep  a  sharp 
eye  on  her  she  gives  away  kerosene  and  matches  out 
of  the  cook-house  to  her  Portuguese  friends.  But  she's  a 
[52] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

good  servant  and  I  only  have  to  slap  her  occasionally 
and  she's  all  right." 

"You  have  such  a  pretty  garden,"  said  Florence. 
"  I  don't  think  I  ever  saw  a  lovelier  place." 

"It  is  pretty,"  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "My  Japanese  gar- 
dener is  a  treasure.  He  bothers  me  a  good  deal,  training 
the  plants  into  birds  and  umbrellas  —  they  look  per- 
fectly horrid  —  but  he  makes  things  grow,  and  I  sell 
a  lot  of  my  rare  plants." 

"Sell  them?  The  place  seems  so  full  of  gardens  I 
shouldn't  think  anybody  did  more  than  throw  seeds 
about." 

"Ordinary  things  grow  easily,  but  I  am  always 
experimenting.  Mr.  Ah  Sue  brought  some  Lychee 
plants  from  China  years  ago  as  presents  to  his  friends, 
and  mine  was  the  only  one  that  grew.  Haka,  the  gar- 
dener, saves  nearly  every  seed  and  I've  made  a 
good  deal  selling  the  little  plants.  You  see,  my  dear, 
I'm  not  rich,  and  every  little  counts.  I  have  a  small 
income  from  my  husband's  life  insurance,  and  my  son 
sends  me  help  now  and  then.  When  he  was  here  last  he 
built  that  little  cottage  at  the  other  end  of  the  garden. 
I'll  show  it  to  you  bye-and-bye,  you  can't  see  it  from  here. 
I  rent  it  to  Count  Tatsu,  a  young  Japanese  gentleman 
who  belongs  to  the  Commission.  He  speaks  English 
perfectly.  My  niece,  Emma,  has  enough  money  of  her 

[53] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

own  to  buy  dresses  and  things,  and  then  there  are  the 
two  Princes." 

"  Princes  ?  "  asked  Florence,  interested. 

"They  are  the  Queen's  nephews,  Vida  and  Mana. 
Their  mother  was  a  cousin  of  mine,  and  when  she  died 
the  Queen  begged  me  to  take  charge  of  the  two  boys 
until  they  were  old  enough  to  go  to  boarding  school. 
She  knew  they  would  have  a  home  life  here  that  was 
impossible  at  the  palace.  She  wanted  them  to  learn 
English  too  —  for,  though  we  are  all  Hawaiians,  I  have 
made  it  a  rule  to  speak  English  for  Lulu's  sake." 

Florence  looked  somewhat  puzzled. 

"  Well,  you  see,"  explained  Mrs.  Ross,  "  my  husband 
came  from  your  country  and  as  I'm  only  a  quarter- 
Hawaiian,  Lulu  might  be  called  an  American,  so  I 
wanted  her  to  speak  the  language  well.  She  is  a  bright 
child,  and  oh,  she  has  been  such  a  help  in  looking 
after  the  Princes !  The  King  pays  very  handsomely,  but 
they  have  been  a  trial  to  me,  those  boys!  I've  had 
entire  care  of  them  ever  since  they  were  so  high.  But 
now  my  daughter  Lulu  takes  charge  of  them,  and  I 
leave  their  bringing  up  to  her.  She's  only  thirteen,  and 
so  helpful  and  capable  I  don't  know  what  I'd  do 
without  her.  Then  I  rented  my  corner  room,  for  a 
long  time,  to  a  young  man  who  was  here  from  Ger- 
many, studying  leprosy,  but  he  left  on  the  last  steamer. 
[54] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

He  paid  ten  dollars  a  week  for  his  room  and  board. 
It  wasn't  much,  but  I  miss  it  all  the  same." 

"May  I  look  at  it?"  asked  Florence.  An  idea  was 
dawning  in  her  mind. 

It  was  a  large  corner  room,  with  windows  to  the 
floor,  opening  out  on  a  broad  veranda  shaded  by  awn- 
ings, and  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  porch  by  a  green 
lattice-work  screen,  with  a  door  let  in  the  middle.  The 
garden  sloped  downward  on  that  side  of  the  house,  so 
the  corner  veranda,  railed  in  like  a  balcony,  was  some 
six  feet  above  the  ground. 

"It's  beautiful!"  cried  Florence.  "Oh,  Mrs.  Ross,  ' 
will  you  take  me  for  a  boarder  ?  For  one  month,  any- 
way!" 

The  little  half -white  clapped  her  hands.  "The  very 
thing!"  she  exclaimed.  "Why  didn't  I  think  of  that 
before!  It  will  be  so  quiet  for  you  here,  too,  and  you'll 
be  away  from  that  gossipy  old  hotel,  and  if  you  want 
to  go  anywhere  I'll  chaperon  you ! " 

"It  was  a  lucky  day  for  me  when  I  met  you." 
They  were  sitting  on  the  veranda  steps  at  the  side 
entrance  by  Florence's  door,  looking  out  over  the 
garden. 

"It  was  Mr.  Todd  really  we  both  ought  to  thank," 
said  Mrs.  Ross.  "For  it  was  he  who  brought  us 
together." 

[55] 


THE   GIRL  FROM   HOME 

"You  see,"  said  Florence,  "I  could  not  bea-  go 
back  on  this  steamer,  it  would  be  too  humiliating.  I 
would  have  to  carry  my  own  explanations  with  me. 
But  if  I  stay  over  a  month  I  could  write  to  my  father 
and  he'd  tell  everybody  and  then,  when  I  get  back, 
it  will  all  have  blown  over." 

"  Then  suppose  you  write  to  him  this  very  day  from 
here  ?  You  needn't  go  back  to  the  hotel  at  all.  I'll  tele- 
phone to  have  your  things  sent  up." 

"  But  I'll  have  to  go  down  to  pack  my  bag  — " 

There  was  the  sound  of  crashing  china  from  the 
cook-house  accompanied  by  a  shrill  Portuguese  scream. 
Mrs.  Ross  flew  off  to  investigate,  leaving  Florence 
sitting  alone  on  the  steps.  It  was  past  noon  and  very 
hot.  The  leaves  seemed  to  hang  limply  from  the  trees. 
Florence  drew  out  her  handkerchief  to  wipe  her  fore- 
head and  found  the  letter  she  had  tucked  into  her  belt. 
She  had  known,  when  the  clerk  handed  it  to  her,  that 
it  was  from  Walter  Sprague;  she  recognized  the  familiar 
handwriting.  Strange  that  she  could  have  so  completely 
forgotten  all  about  it  in  the  excitement  of  her  visit !  She 
drew  the  folded  leaves  out  reluctantly.  Four  pages 
of  almost  illegible  handwriting  the  unfortunate  young 
man  filled  with  reproaches  of  himself.  He  was  penitent  to 
tears;  indeed,  there  were  tear-stains  on  the  paper.  He 
grovelled;  he  threw  dust  and  ashes  on  his  head.  The 

[56] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

ink  had  blotted  through  the  thin  paper  making  it  diffi- 
cult to  read.  The  pitiful  appeal  only  roused  Flor- 
ence to  scorn  and  anger.  It  wound  up  by  begging  her  to 
see  him  again  before  the  steamer  sailed  for  Maui,"  where 
our  happy  home  was  to  have  been,"  ran  the  letter, 
"  and  where  I  shall  return  an  unhappy,  broken-hearted 
man.  Let  me  see  your  beautiful  face  once  more.  May  I 
not  press  again  that  hand  I  have  lost  by  my  hideous 
folly  and  crime  ?  I  may  not  live  to  reach  Maui.  If  you 
hear  that  I  have  ended  my  miserable  existence  by  jump- 
ing off  the  boat,  you  will  understand  that  I  do  not 
reproach  you.  I  am  only  ending  a  worthless  life,  that 
has  no  charms  for  me  without  my  darling  Florence. 
Let  me  see  you  once  more.  I  am  at  Mr.  Lansing's. 
Send  me  a  line  — "  Here  the  letter  was  crossed  and 
Florence  crumpled  it  up  with  a  gesture  of  exasperation. 
Just  then  the  bell  rang  and  Mrs.  Ross's  voice  called. 

"  Come  in  to  lunch.  Come  in  to  lunch." 

Florence  tore  the  paper  to  fragments  and  threw  it 
guiltily  behind  a  gardenia  bush  before  she  obeyed  the 
cheerful  summons. 

Mrs.  Ross  introduced  her  to  the  rest  of  the  family  as 
she  took  her  seat  at  the  table.  Emma  was  a  silent  young 
woman,  dark,  even  for  a  half-white,  with  a  low  fore- 
head and  black  eyebrows  that  gave  her  a  fiercely  sullen 
expression.  She  acknowledged  Florence's  greeting 

[57] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

with  a  scowl,  but  her  voice  was  unexpectedly  high- 
pitched  and  mild.  Lulu,  Mrs.  Ross's  daughter,  was  very 
fair,  with  dust-coloured  hair  drawn  tightly  off  a  high 
white  forehead.  She  had  full,  pale  blue  eyes  and  a  keenly 
inquisitive  manner.  Florence  shrank  under  a  scrutiny 
that  was  busily  taking  in  every  detail  of  her  dress. 

The  two  Princes  were  boys  about  eight  and  nine; 
Vida,  a  sturdy  little  fellow,  with  rings  of  coal-black 
hair,  and  Mana  slighter  and  more  graceful,  with  a 
delicate  face  and  large,  lustrous  eyes.  Both  showed,  in 
the  rich,  warm  brown  colour  of  their  skins,  that  they 
were  full  blood  Hawaiians.  Their  manners  were  very 
elaborate  and  careful,  evidently  inspired  by  Lulu,  upon 
whom  the  boys  kept  an  anxious  eye  as  each  shook  hands 
with  Florence,  saying  politely,  "glad  to  make  your 
acquaintance." 

"  Oh,  dear ! "  cried  Mrs.  Ross.  "  I  forgot  to  ask  if  you 
have  ever  had  the  whooping-cough  ?  " 

"  I  had  it  when  I  was  a  child,"  said  Florence. 

"Oh,  then,  it's  all  right,  the  boys  are  just  getting 
over  it." 

Mana  pressed  his  handkerchief  to  his  lips,  growing 
purple  in  the  face  and  looked  wildly  at  Lulu. 

She  instantly  rose  to  the  occasion.  "Leave  the  table 
at  once ! "  she  cried.  "  You  know  I  always  told  you  to  go 
outside  to  whoop.  Stay  where  you  are,  Vida,"  as  the 

[58] 


THE  ROSS  FAMILY 

elder  boy  started  to  his  brother's  aid.  "You  must  not 
keep  getting  up  and  down." 

"Miss  Van  Voorhis  is  going  to  board  with  us,"  said 
Mrs.  Ross  to  the  table  generally. 

"  I  too  much  like ! "  cried  Bella,  who  was  bringing  in 
a  large  dish  of  hot  baked  taro.  No  one  seemed  to  notice 
her  remark. 

Lulu  laid  down  her  knife  and  fork  to  take  another 
long  look  at  the  stranger,  and  then  asked  suddenly, 
"  Why  didn't  you  marry  Mr.  Sprague  ?  " 


[59] 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

Good-bye  to  Walter 

A  SMALL  table  had  been  drawn  out  in  the 
sitting-room;  here  Mrs.  Ross  laid  envelopes, 
several  sheets  of  pink  ruled  paper,  a  very  fine 
pen,  a  bottle  of  ink  that  was  almost  colourless,  and 
left  Florence  to  write  the  letter  to  her  father.  It  was  a 
difficult  task,  and  the  young   girl   studied  the  great 
feather  duster  and  stared  long  at  the  folded  yellow 
cape  under  the  glass  case  and  the  strings  of  sea-shells 
on  the  wall,  before  she  drew  a  long  breath  and  began  to 
write. 

It  was  a  wildly  incoherent  letter,  a  jumble  of  indigna- 
tion, self-pity,  gratitude  to  Mrs.  Ross  and  descriptions 
of  the  scenery.  "  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  go  back  now," 
she  wrote,  "  and  I  know  how  comfortable  you  are  at  the 
club. 

"  Mr.  Sprague  doesn't  live  in  Honolulu,  you  know, 
and  once  he  has  left  town  I  will  feel  more  comfortable. 
I  have  quite  enough  money  to  last  me  this  month,  and 

[60] 


GOOD-BYE  TO  WALTER 

the  thousand  dollars  you  promised  to  send  me  next 
mail  will  help  me  to  stay  on  a  while.  Even  if  it  was  a 
wedding  present,  I  know  you  won't  mind  letting  me 
have  it  for  my  expenses  here.  Dear  Dad,  you  know  how 
I  hate  the  idea  of  coming  home  just  now,  and  I'm 
with  dear,  good  people  who  take  the  best  of  care  of  me, 
so  you  needn't  worry  at  all.  I  have  a  descendant  of  the 
Kamehamehas  for  a  chaperon  and  that  ought  to  im- 
press you.  I  wouldn't  stay  here  a  minute  if  that  man 
lived  here,  but  as  soon  as  he  leaves  I'll  try  hard  to  for- 
get the  whole  miserable,  humiliating  experience." 

With  a  few  words  of  affection  Florence  sealed  her 
letter  and  wrote  out  the  name  and  club  address.  Poor 
Dad;  he  was  so  young  to  be  her  father!  She  had  come 
into  the  world  before  he  was  twenty-one,  and  here,  at 
what  he  considered  the  ridiculously  youthful  age  of 
forty-two,  he  found  himself  the  sole  guardian  of  a  grown 
young  woman.  Though  he  was  kind  and  indulgent, 
Florence  felt  that  her  presence  was  a  continual  re- 
straint and  embarrassment  to  him;  and  her  projected 
marriage  had  beer  a  great  relief  to  them  both. 

Mrs.  Ross  had  been  on  the  lookout  for  passers-by, 
and  called  to  Florence  from  the  garden  to  bring  her 
letter  which  was  handed  over  the  wheel  of  a  phaeton 
crowded  with  girls,  who  were  going  down  to  the  post- 
office  with  the  family  mail. 

[61] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Florence  preferred  to  walk  to  the  hotel.  Honolulu 
held  all  the  charm  and  mystery  of  a  first  foreign  town 
to  one  who  had  never  left  her  native  land  before.  She 
started  out  in  the  cool  of  the  afternoon  and  loitered  on 
her  way  to  look  about.  The  wide  street,  shaded  by 
flowering  trees  had  been  newly  sprinkled  to  lay  the  dust. 
In  place  of  fences  many  of  the  gardens  were  closed  in 
by  green  hedges  resplendent  in  scarlet  hibiscus  flowers. 
The  houses  were  mostly  low  and  broad  with  deep 
verandas  and  wide  awnings.  Through  the  open  doors 
and  windows  Florence  caught  glimpses  of  domestic 
interiors ;  a  woman  in  white  swinging  idly  in  a  hammock, 
an  old  lady  reading  aloud  to  a  couple  of  girls  grouped 
on  the  floor  at  her  feet;  under  a  bread-fruit  tree  in  the 
centre  of  a  small  garden,  a  number  of  children  were 
busily  playing  with  dolls  and  little  dishes;  in  a  larger, 
more  pretentious  place,  a  tennis  game  was  in  full  swing ; 
the  girls  in  white,  the  men  in  flannels,  shouting  and 
laughing,  while  a  gay  party  of  young  people  looked  on 
from  the  veranda,  where,  in  their  midst,  a  solemn  look- 
ing old  gentleman  with  a  beard  sat  isolated  under  an 
odd  square  gauze  structure  that  looked  like  a  bird  cage. 
Florence  walked  more  slowly,  studying  the  scene,  and 
wondering  if  the  man  were  a  lunatic,  when  the  flapping 
of  hats  and  handkerchiefs  gave  her  a  clue  to  the  mystery. 
He  had  evidently  constructed  a  refuge  from  mosquitoes, 

[62] 


GOOD-BYE  TO  WALTER 

and  was  reading  his  paper  in  peace,  oblivious  to  the 
world  about  him. 

As  Florence  wandered  on  she  noticed  that  many  car- 
riages passed  her,  all  going  in  the  same  direction  — 
toward  town.  She  knew  the  steamer  was  to  leave  on 
the  morrow,  and  conjectured,  rightly  enough,  that  the 
month's  accumulation  of  letters  were  being  carried  to 
the  post.  One  old  family  carryall  drew  up  and  a  white- 
haired  lady,  an  utter  stranger,  called  out  to  Florence, 
offering  her  a  lift.  "There  is  plenty  of  room  .'"she 
cried.  "Jimmy  can  sit  on  the  front  seat."  But  the  amia- 
ble offer  was  refused  with  an  interchange  of  smiles  and 
nods  and  Florence  walked  on. 

A  couple  of  bare-footed  native  girls  loitered  to  say: 
"Aloha"  in  passing.  Encouraged  by  the  young  white 
woman's  friendliness,  one  of  them  took  a  wreath  of 
fragrant  green  leaves  from  her  own  neck  and  threw  it 
over  Florence's  shoulders. 

"Makai!"  she  said.  "  Makaino"  and  the  other  girl 
spoke  to  her  at  more  length  in  Hawaiian,  but  Florence 
could  only  shake  her  head  and  smile.  They  both 
laughed  and  turning  at  the  corner  of  the  street  said 
"aloha"  again,  and  were  evidently  pleased  when  she 
repeated  the  salutation  after  them  —  "  aloha  I " 

There  was  something  frank  and  simple  in  this  little 
adventure  that  left  Florence  in  a  pleasant  mood  as  she 

[63] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

turned  into  the  shady  entrance  of  the  hotel  grounds. 
Here  there  were  several  small  cottages  under  the  trees, 
closing  in  the  garden  and  driveway.  On  the  porch  of 
one  a  pleasant  party  were  having  afternoon  tea;  at 
another  three  young  men  in  white  duck  were  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  a  Chinaman  who  skimmed  across  the 
grass  balancing  a  tray  laden  with  tall  glasses  and 
bottles;  a  small  boy  on  the  lawn  was  practising  with  a 
stock-whip.  Florence  ran  up  the  steps  of  the  hotel, 
walked  in  at  the  wide  open  door  and  met  Walter 
Sprague  face  to  face.  She  started  back  with  an  exclama- 
tion of  dismay. 

"  Oh,  Florence !  I  beg  your  pardon  —  Miss  Van  Voor- 
his,"  cried  the  young  man.  "  I  must  speak  to  you.  I  have 
been  here  to  see  you  six  times  to-day."  He  looked 
around  hastily.  "  Come  into  the  drawing-room,  there  is 
nobody  there.  Only  for  a  minute!"  He  was  perfectly 
sober,  and  though  pale  and  agitated  was  entirely  mas- 
ter of  himself.  A  Chinaman  was  sprinkling  down  the 
steps  with  a  small  watering  pot ;  several  young  men  stood 
talking  at  the  hotel  desk,  and  there  was  the  sound  of  a 
guitar  and  singing  voices  from  the  front  veranda.  She 
saw  there  was  no  escape  and  followed  him  into  the 
parlour,  a  large,  hot  room,  furnished  in  magenta  red. 
The  wall,  papered  in  gilt  leaves,  was  adorned  by  a  single 
large  painting  of  a  volcanic  eruption  on  Kilauea. 

[64] 


GOOD-BYE  TO  WALTER 

"  Now,'*  she  said,  "  I  want  to  ask  how  you  dare  come 
and  speak  to  me  ?  " 

This  attack  disconcerted  the  young  man,  who  had 
evidently  hoped  to  efface  the  bad  impressions  of  the 
previous  day. 

"  My  dear  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  he  said,  "I  am  ashamed 
of  myself.  Miserably,  hopelessly  ashamed.  There  is  no 
excuse  for  me  whatever,  but  I  beg  of  you,  I  implore  you 
to  wipe  it  all  off  the  slate.  It  can  never  happen  again." 

She  looked  at  him  with  minute  scrutiny.  His  black 
moustache  was  curled  up  at  the  corners ;  his  hair,  parted 
exactly  down  the  middle  of  his  head,  bore  the  crease 
left  by  the  band  of  his  hat  on  its  smooth  surface;  he  was 
smartly  dressed,  and  made  a  rather  good  though  fop- 
pish appearance. 

"  I  can  never  wipe  the  memory  of  your  reception  of 
me  off  my  mind,"  she  returned  coldly. 

"  My  dear  girl  —  I  give  you  my  word  — " 

"  Don't !  It  is  a  waste  of  time  for  us  to  talk  over  any- 
thing. We  only  need  to  say  good-bye  and  part." 

"But  you  can't  mean  it!"  he  cried.  "Think  of  our 
house  all  ready  and  furnished  —  my  father  and  mother 
waiting  to  receive  us  at  Huapala ! " 

"  It  would  have  been  in  better  taste  if  they  had  been 
here  to  receive  me  in  Honolulu,  on  the  day  of  my 
arrival." 

[65] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  My  God ! "  cried  the  young  man,  "  do  you  imagine 
I  haven't  thought  of  that?  But  my  mother  couldn't 
stand  the  trip  —  she  hasn't  been  to  Honolulu  for  five 
years.  I  might  have  brought  my  father.  He  was  dying 
for  the  chance  to  come.  He'll  tell  you  all  about  it." 

" Indeed,  he  will  not,"  she  replied  firmly,  "for  I 
never  intend  to  see  him  or  any  member  of  your  family 
if  I  can  help  it." 

Mr.  Sprague  threw  his  hat  on  a  gilt-legged  chair  and 
sat  down  disconsolately  on  the  piano  stool. 

"  It's  all  up,  then,"  he  said. 

"  Mr.  Sprague,"  she  stood  up  very  straight  and  cold 
before  him,  "I  intended  to  write  all  this  to  you,  and 
save  both  of  us  the  pain  of  an  interview.  I  cannot  go 
into  explanations  or  recriminations,  I  only  want  to  say 
that  I  will  never  marry  you,  and  when  you  leave  Hono- 
lulu I  hope  I  may  never  see  you  again. " 

The  young  man  twirled  entirely  about  on  the  piano 
stool. 

"  You  couldn't  forgive  me  ? "  he  asked,  with  an  up- 
ward pleading  glance. 

"It  isn't  a  matter  of  forgiveness,  I  am  glad  of  the 
chance  that  separated  us  for  we  should  never  have  been 
happy  together." 

"  How  can  you  say  that ! "  cried  Walter  passionately, 
"  I  would  have  died  to  make  you  happy.  Our  life  would 

[66] 


GOOD-BYE  TO  WALTER 

have  been  one  long  dream  of  bliss.  You  loved  me, 
Florence  — " 

"I  did  not!"  she  cried,  exasperated.  "I  —  perhaps  I 
thought  I  did  —  but  it  wasn't  you  —  it  was  the  person 
I  thought  you  were  — " 

"Well,"  said  the  young  man  dolefully,  "if  I  go  now 
it  will  be  forever.  You  don't  know  what  this  means 
to  me.  I'm  a  broken-hearted  man.  I'll  never  return 
to  Honolulu,  but  in  my  lonely  cabin  on  the  mountain 
side—" 

"I  thought  you  had  a  very  comfortable  house," 
said  Florence  cruelly;  "at  least,  you  described  it  so  in 
your  letters." 

"  What  will  it  be  to  me  without  you  ?  "  he  went  on,  un- 
dismayed. "  Only  four  walls.  Home  is  where  the  heart 
is  and  God  knows  mine  will  not  be  there !  You  are  send- 
ing me  into  exile.  I  won't  ask  you  again  to  forgive  me 
now,  but  if,  at  some  future  time  — " 

"You  must  let  me  go!"  said  Florence.  "There  is 
nothing  more  to  be  said." 

Walter  burst  into  ready  tears,  he  begged  and  im- 
plored. She  would  have  left  the  room,  but  he  had  fallen 
upon  his  knees  and  clutched  her  skirts.  There  was  just 
enough  real  misery  in  the  young  man's  voice  to  keep 
Florence  from  disbelieving  every  word  he  said,  but  she 
could  not  find  any  sympathy  for  him  in  her  heart.  If 

[67] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

he  had  gone  away  at  once  after  that  meeting  on  the 
veranda,  she  might  have  regretted  her  harshness  if  not 
her  decision  to  break  off  the  marriage.  She  might  have 
felt  that  she  had  been  too  severe,  and  an  overture  later 
would  have  found  her  less  resentful.  But  seeing  him 
again  so  soon  after,  while  she  was  still  burning  with 
mortification  and  anger;  this  scene  in  the  hotel  parlour, 
with  the  element  of  the  ridiculous  in  it,  and  the  agoniz- 
ing consciousness  that  every  door  and  window  was  open 
and  some  passer-by  at  this  very  moment  might  be  an 
interested  spectator;  the  anxiety  lest  some  one  should 
walk  in  and  find  this  creature  clinging  to  her  knees, 
turned  her  heart  to  stone.  Finally,  as  her  only  hope  of 
putting  a  stop  to  the  interview,  she  said :  "  I  will  shake 
hands,  and  we  will  part  friends,  if  you  will  get  up  and 
say  good-bye,  in  a  proper  manner." 

"  God  bless  you,  Florence,"  said  the  young  man,  ris- 
ing to  his  feet  and  preparing  for  an  impressive  farewell. 
"  You  have  taken  a  load  off  my  heart." 

"Very  well,"  said  Florence,  giving  his  hand  a  hard 
little  shake  and  walking  briskly  to  the  door.  "Good- 
bye ! "  and  she  fairly  flew  down  the  corridor  and  up  the 
stairs  to  her  veranda  room. 


[68] 


CHAPTER  SIX 

The  Bower 

FLORENCE  had  been  some  days  at  Mrs.  Ross's 
and  was  now  busily  engaged  getting  settled  in 
her  new  quarters  with  the  enthusiastic  help  of 
the  Princes  supervised  by  Lulu. 

"I  too  much  like!"  said  Bella.  "Look,  see!  Pretty 
shawl!" 

The  Princes,  with  hammer  and  nails,  were  helping 
Florence  to  strengthen  a  long,  narrow  shelf. 

"Ow!"  cried  Mana,  "I  banged  my  thumb!"  and  he 
set  up  a  wail  that  ended  in  a  cough. 

" Run!"  screamed  Lulu,  from  under  a  billow  of  tulle, 
where  she  was  picking  out  basting  threads.  "Go  out- 
side and  whoop !" 

"Please,  Lulu,"  said  Florence,  "let  the  boys  whoop 
wherever  they  like/* 

"See,  Bella,"  cried  the  Portuguese  girl,  "look  all 
same  Queen,"  and  she  stood  grinning  in  the  doorway 
draping  a  long  embroidered  scarf  over  her  head. 

[69] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

She  had  broken  three  "  HI  cup  aig "  in  the  kitchen 
that  morning;  but  Mrs.  Ross  felt  herself  lucky  to  have 
lost  nothing  more  valuable  than  egg  cups,  for  Bella 
had  thrown  herself  at  the  work  with  fury  in  her  frantic 
endeavours  to  finish  in  time  to  join  the  excitement  of 
unpacking. 

"  That  isn't  a  shawl,  is  it,  Miss  Van  Voorhis  ?  "  asked 
Lulu. 

"It's  a  piano  cover,"  said  Florence.  "It  was  one  of 
my  wedding  —  I  mean  it  was  a  present  from  a  girl  at 
home.  She  embroidered  it  for  me  herself." 

"Let's  hang  it  over  the  shelf,"  said  Mana.  "You 
know  Mrs.  Landry  has  a  scarf  over  her  mantel." 

"That's  a  good  idea,  Mana,"  said  Florence,  remov- 
ing it  from  Bella,  who  went  back  into  the  room 
where  she  resumed  the  absorbing  work  of  unpacking 
things  from  the  trunks  and  laying  them  out  on  the 
bed.  It  was  a  somewhat  slow  business,  as  it  entailed 
a  minute  investigation  of  each  object.  Lulu  sat  at 
the  open  French  window,  where  she  could  see 
all  that  was  taken  out  of  the  trunks  yet  keep  an 
eye  on  the  veranda,  where  the  Princes  were  busily 
helping  Florence. 

"  It  is  like  the  boudoir  of  a  Princess,"  she  said. 

"  My  Aunt,  Princess  Likelike,"  said  Vida, "  has  a  big, 
big  room,  with  palms  and  flowers  growing  inside." 

[70] 


THE  BOWER 

"And  Aunt  Liliuokalani  is  a  Princess,"  said  Mana. 
"  She  has  two  houses,  but  she  hasn't  any  bower." 

"I  mean  a  fairy  story  Princess,"  said  Florence, 
abashed.  "Don't  you  know  the  tale  of  the  Princess 
with  the  Golden  Locks  ?  " 

"  What's  locks  ?  "  asked  Vida. 

She  explained. 

"Princess  Likelike  has  black  hair,"  said  Mana, 
"  and  Princess  Liliuokalani  has  grey." 

"  Mrs.  Landry's  hair  is  golden,"  said  Vida. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Mana,  "  I  often  think,  if  you 
dropped  a  gold  ring  in  Mrs.  Landry's  hair  you  couldn't 
find  it  again. " 

"  Mrs.  Landry's  hair  is  dyed,"  announced  Lulu.  "  I 
remember  when  it  was  quite  brown.  She  went  off  to 
San  Francisco  with  brown  hair  and  when  she  came 
back  it  was  yellow.  She  told  Emma  it  curled  naturally, 
but  it  has  been  straight  as  sticks  ever  since  I  can 
remember." 

"There,  there,"  said  Florence  hastily,  "the  shelf 
looks  beautiful  now.  Bella,  bring  me  some  of  those  pic- 
tures in  the  little  black  frames." 

Mana  showed  very  good  taste  in  arranging  the  decora- 
tions. 

"  Haven't  you  a  big  picture,"  he  asked,  "  to  hang  up 
in  the  middle  over  the  shelf  ?  " 

[71] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Have  you  seen  Mr.  Maxwell  yet?"  interrupted 
Lulu. 

"No,"  said  Florence.  She  has  brought  out  a  large 
framed  water-colour  of  the  Golden  Gate  and  was  hold- 
ing it  over  the  mantelpiece. 

"A  little  higher  up,"  directed  Mana. 

"  He's  got  eleven  millions,"  said  Lulu. 

"  Millions  of  what  ?  "  asked  Florence.  "  That's  right, 
isn't  it  ?  You  put  a  nail  here,  Vida." 

"Dollars!"  cried  Lulu.  "Mrs.  Landry  is  trying  to 
catch  him  for  a  husband.  That's  why  she  went  off  to 
San  Francisco  to  buy  clothes." 

"  Oh,  Lulu,  you  shouldn't  say  such  things. " 

"Well,"  said  Lulu,  "it's  true,  for  Mrs.  Tyler  told 
Harry  the  half-white,  and  he  told  Emma,  and  Emma 
told  mamma  and  I  heard  her. " 

"You  shouldn't  listen  to  such  things,  you're  too 
young." 

"  I'll  be  thirteen  next  October,"  she  said,  undisturbed. 
"  I  look  young  because  I'm  little.  Vida,  take  those  tacks 
out  of  your  mouth.  What  if  you  should  whoop  and 
swallow  them!" 

There  were  screams  from  Bella.  She  had  brought  out 
a  ruffled  white  silk  petticoat,  which  she  held  up  to  her 
waist.  "Oh,  look,  see!"  she  cried.  "All  same  circus!" 

Lulu  hastily  recovered  the  petticoat.  She  had  finished 
[72] 


THE  BOWER 

pulling  the  basting  threads  out  of  the  tulle  dress,  which 
she  neatly  and  deftly  shook  out,  folded  and  laid  away, 
covered  with  tissue  paper. 

She  hung  up  the  silk  petticoat  in  the  oak  wardrobe 
and  soon  reduced  the  room  to  something  like  order. 
There  were  several  embroidered  silk  pillow  covers 
which  the  Princes  were  pulling  over  cushions  a  shade 
too  large. 

"  I  wish  I  had  something  to  put  on  my  table,"  said 
Florence. 

"  I  have  something  nice,"  said  Mana,  Lulu  objecting, 
not  that  she  had  any  reason,  but  from  force  of  habit. 

"That's  the  piece  of  tapa  the  Queen  gave  you,"  said 
the  little  girl  reprovingly  as  Mana  returned  breath- 
lessly. 

"I  know,"  said  Mana,  "it  just  suits  this  table,  I'm 
glad  I  had  it." 

His  brother  had  been  looking  thoughtful.  "I  can 
give  her  my  carved  cocoanut,"  he  said.  "  Oh,  no  —  the 
calabash  Princess  Likelike  gave  me !  That's  it ! " 

He  brought  a  round  smooth  bowl  cut  out  of  wood 
and  finely  polished  which  he  set  down  on  the  table. 
"There!"  he  said.  "If  people  come,  and  leave  their 
cards,  you  can  put  them  in  the  calabash.  Princess 
Liliuokalani  has  a  big  one  on  the  marble  table  in  her 
room,  filled  up  so  high  with  cards.  I  wish  people  would 

[73] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

hurry  up  and  call  on  you  so  that  we  could  fill  this  one ! " 

"  You  are  such  sweet  boys,"  said  Florence.  "  See  how 
much  improved  my  table  looks  with  the  cover  and  the 
shiny  bowl." 

Lulu  had  been  growing  uncomfortable.  Though  she 
was  so  fair  in  colour  she  was  an  eighth  Hawaiian, 
and  even  one  drop  of  native  blood  tells  for  generosity. 

"You  can  have  my  little  chair,"  she  said,  dragging 
in  a  diminutive  rocker.  "I'm  getting  rather  big  for  it 
now,  but  Vida  and  Mana  can  sit  in  it  when  they  are 
visiting  you  and  besides,  it  will  sort  of  help  furnish." 

The  Portuguese  woman  was  not  to  be  outdone.  She 
proudly  presented  a  small  green  crochetted  mat,  bor- 
dered with  red. 

"  Bella  make  him,"  she  said.  "  Put  bottom  side  lamp. 
No  get  him  tapa  dirty." 

Florence  thanked  her.  Mana  eyed  the  thing  scorn- 
fully, but -was  too  polite  to  make  any  objections. 

"Let's  call  mamma  in,"  said  Lulu,  "to  see  how 
pretty  it  all  looks." 

"Why,  it  isn't  the  same  place!"  cried  Mrs.  Ross, 
standing  in  the  lattice  doorway  and  looking  about  ad- 
miringly. "Herr  Stuber  had  awful  things  in  bottles 
ranged  on  that  shelf  and  horrid  pictures  of  lepers.  He 
was  such  a  nice  young  man,  too." 

"  Miss  Van  Voorhis  calls  this  her  bower,"  said  Mana. 
[74] 


THE  BOWER 

"  She  said  boudoir"  corrected  Lulu. 

"Well,  it's  all  the  same,"  said  Florence.  "Let's  call 
it  the  bower." 

"  I  like  bower  too  much,"  said  Bella. 

It  certainly  was  very  bright  and  pretty,  with  the  red 
and  white  matting  on  the  floor  of  the  veranda,  the  gay 
silk  cushions  piled  on  the  long  cane  chair  by  the  railing, 
the  pictures,  the  photographs,  the  little  hanging  shelf 
full  of  books,  hibiscus  flowers  in  a  red  vase  and  a  mass 
of  roses  in  a  squat  green  jar.  The  awning  in  front 
opened  out  upon  the  garden  where  a  vista  of  paths, 
flower-beds  and  gardenia  bushes  were  shut  off  by  the 
drooping  branches  of  a  noble  old  tamarind  tree.  By 
the  side  of  the  balcony,  quite  close,  a  small  banana 
plantation  made  a  screen  of  broad,  shining  green  leaves. 

Lulu  took  off  the  Princes,  who  retired  reluctantly 
to  sew  patchwork  for  their  tyrant's  dolls.  Bella  returned 
to  the  cook-house  the  richer  by  several  ribbons  and 
coveted  odds  and  ends,  while  the  new  tenant  sank  into 
a  rocking-chair  to  rest.  No  sound  penetrated  to  the 
bower;  a  deep,  hot,  peaceful  silence  surrounded  her. 
The  tree-tops  in  the  garden,  even  the  feathery  branches 
of  the  bamboo  were  motionless  in  the  sunshine.  Florence 
drew  in  a  deep  breath  of  perfume  and  content. 

Her  first  visitor  was  Lieutenant  Todd.  Bella  an- 
nounced his  arrival  with  such  an  air  of  mystery  and 

[75] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

excitement  that  Florence  thought  it  must  be  Mr. 
Sprague. 

"  Is  he  a  young  man  ?  "  she  asked  breathlessly. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Bella,  nodding  violently. 

"  Black  moustache  ?  " 

"  No,  no  moustache.  Got  neck  like  a  chicken,"  and 
Bella  gave  a  very  unflattering  imitation  of  Lieutenant 
Todd's  naval  carriage. 

"Oh,  then,"  said  Florence,  recognizing  her  friend, 
"  show  him  in  here." 

Lieutenant  Todd  gave  up  his  only  claim  to  distinc- 
tion when  he  laid  aside  his  uniform.  In  white  flannels, 
with  a  red  sash,  he  looked  an  elongated  boy  of  sixteen. 
He  carried  a  straw  hat,  and  a  small  parcel  done  up  in 
brown  paper. 

"  What  an  artistically  arranged  apartment,"  he  said, 
looking  about  the  bower  with  admiration.  He  was  very 
much  embarrassed  and  glanced  hesitatingly  at  Lulu's 
rocker.  Florence  directed  him  to  a  more  substantial 
chair. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Todd,  I'm  so  glad  you  came.  You  are  my 
first  visitor  here  in  my  new  abode.  You  know  you  were 
the  first  to  welcome  me  to  Honolulu." 

"Don't  mention  it,"  said  Hammy,  reddening,  "what 
an  exquisite  mat,"  he  went  on  trying  to  change  the  sub- 
ject, as  he  took  Bella's  humble  offering  in  his  hand  and 

[76] 


THE  BOWER 

examined  it  carefully,  with  an  air  of  exaggerated  inter- 
est. "  Did  you  make  it  yourself  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  present  from  Mrs.  Ross's  cook." 

He  put  it  down  hastily. 

"Our  ship  is  giving  a  dance  and  I  brought  you  an 
invitation  — "  He  handed  a  letter  to  Florence. 

She  drew  out  an  engraved  card  and  read : 

"'The  captain  and  officers  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Mohawk 
request  the  pleasure  of  your  company  at  a  reception  on 
board,  Thursday  afternoon,  April  12th,  1883,  from 
two  till  six.  Boats  will  be  at  the  landing.  Dancing.' ' 

"  Can  you  go  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Todd. 

"Thank  you,  very  much,"  she  said,  "but  I  think 
I'd  better  not.  I  feel  so  self-conscious  since  I've  found 
out  how  people  talk  in  Honolulu.  Mr.  Todd,  I  want  to 
ask  you  something,  and  yet  I  hate  to  mention  the 
subject  — " 

"I  —  you  —  you  can  address  any  remark  to  me, 
Miss  Van  Voorhis." 

"  Well,  did  Mr.  Sprague  leave  on  the  Kinau  ?  I  won't 
feel  really  comfortable  here  till  I  know  he  has  left  the 
island." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hammy,  "  he  took  his  departure  yester- 
day. At  least,  I  didn't  see  him  go,  but  I  met  Lansing 
and  he  said  they  were  leaving  together  at  four  o'clock. 
So  it's  all  right." 

[77] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Well,  then,"  said  Florence,  "that's  settled  and 
finished,  and  we'll  never  mention  his  name  again.  But 
all  the  same,  even  though  I  say  nothing  I  will  never, 
never  forget  what  I  owe  you  — " 

"  I  have  brought  you  a  present,"  interrupted  Hammy, 
producing  the  paper  parcel. 

"Really!"  she  said.  "I'm  very  lucky  to-day.  I've  had 
several  presents  already." 

"  It  is  lucky  —  I  mean  —  it's  intended  for  luck." 

He  unfastened  the  parcel  and  took  out  a  small  stone 
image,  rudely  carved  into  the  semblance  of  a  woman; 
squat,  flat  and  hideously  ugly. 

She  looked  at  it  doubtfully.  "  Thank  you  very  much," 
she  said. 

"I  obtained  it  in  Peru,"  said  Hammy.  "We  were 
ashore  there  and  had  permission  to  excavate  in  the 
graves  of  the  Incas  for  a  pecuniary  consideration.  I 
dug  up  a  mummy  — " 

Florence  began  to  be  interested. 

"  It  was  wrapped  up  in  stuff  that  came  to  pieces  in  the 
air.  And  the  —  the  lady,  too,  evaporated.  All  into  dust, 
you  know.  But  just  at  first  she  was  perfect  and  she  had 
this  diminutive  image  clasped  to  her  breast." 

"  How  curious ! "  said  Florence,  looking  at  the  strange 
object  in  her  hands. 

"  She  must  have  been  a  lady  of  quality,  for  she  had 
[78] 


THE  BOWER 

a  beaten  gold  mask  on  her  face  and  two  tear  vials. 
But  my  mummy  was  the  only  one  that  had  an  idol.  I 
sent  the  mask  and  tear  vials  home  to  my  sisters;  I 
regret  it  now  for  I  would  have  chosen  to  present  them 
to  you." 

"Oh,  I'd  much  prefer  to  have  the  idol,"  she  said. 
"See  how  her  eyes  are  carved  and  that  band  across 
her  forehead.  Oh,  there  are  little  holes  in  her  ears.  I 
do  believe  the  mummy  lady  put  jewels  in  her  idol's 
ears." 

"She  must  have  esteemed  it  highly  to  be  interred 
with  it  in  her  arms." 

"  I  wonder  if  it  brought  her  luck  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  said  Hammy,  drawing  "his 
chair  a  little  closer,  "that  was  my  idea.  I  hoped  she 
would  bring  you  good  fortune  and  that  you  might  owe 
it  to  me." 

"  I  tell  you  what,"  she  said  gaily,  "  I'm  going  to  ask 
the  little  Princes  to  make  me  a  temple  and  I'll  place  it  on 
that  shelf  in  the  corner.  She  shall  be  my  household 
goddess." 

"Can  a  goddess  herself  possess  a  goddess?"  said 
Hammy,  flushing  violently.  "  Could  a  deity  — " 

There  was  a  timid  knock  at  the  door  for  which  Flor- 
ence was  grateful.  It  was  the  two  Princes  followed  by  a 
very  small  Japanese  gentleman  in  a  silk  hat  and  frock 

[79] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

coat.  Lulu  sidled  in,  attracted  by  the  advent  of  com- 
pany. 

"Can  we  come  in?"  asked  Mana.  "We've  brought 
Count  Tatsu  to  call  on  you.  He  was  just  coming  home 
when  we  met  him  at  the  gate." 

The  little  Japanese  bowed  and  took  a  proffered  seat 
with  great  self-possession.  He  spoke  English  with  literal 
correctness. 

"Their  young  Highnesses  invited  me  to  call  upon 
you,"  he  explained.  "  I  would  have  hesitated  at  taking 
such  a  liberty,  but  for  the  fact  that  I  am  a  neighbour 
of  yours.  I  live  across  the  garden  in  that  small  cot- 
tage." 

"  Mrs.  Ross  was  telling  me  about  you,"  said  Florence. 
"And  it  is  very  good  of  you  to  be  so  neighbourly.  See," 
she  said,  holding  up  the  idol,  "what  Mr.  Todd  has 
brought  me." 

"Ah"  said  Count  Tatsu,  with  interest.  "A  stone 
idol  —  South  American,  evidently  of  Aztec  antiquity. 
Supposed  to  be  three  thousand  years  old." 

"How  extraordinary!"  said  Mr.  Todd.  "They  in- 
formed me  in  Peru  that  these  mummies  were  at  least 
that  age." 

"You  have  idols  in  your  own  country,  haven't  you, 
Count  Tatsu  ?  "  asked  Vida. 

"Ah,  yes,  in  Japan  there  are  many  religions.  You 
[80] 


THE  BOWER 

are  Christian,  no  doubt  ?  "  he  said,  addressing  his  young 
hostess. 

"  Why,  yes,"  she  answered,  smiling,  "  I  hope  so." 

"  What  is  your  religion,  Count  Tatsu  ?  "  asked  Lulu. 

"  I  am  a  hypocrite." 

He  said  it  so  seriously  that  Hammy  stared  in  as- 
tonishment. 

"  Surely  you  are  joking,"  said  Florence. 

"  No,"  returned  the  Count,  "  a  hypocrite  is  a  person 
who  professes  a  religion  he  does  not  believe.  When  we 
came  to  Honolulu,  the  commissioners  were  given  their 
instructions  from  the  Emperor,  and  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant was  to  find  the  prevailing  religion  and  join  the 
most  popular  church  of  that  denomination.  We  did  so, 
and  are,  consequently,  hypocrites." 

"  I  am  an  idolater,"  Mana  announced  solemnly. 

"Nonsense,"  cried  Lulu  sharply. 

"  I  am,"  said  Mana.  "  We  often  go  to  the  Hawaiian 
Museum,  and  I  love  those  old  idols.  Whenever  I  see 
one  I  bob  my  head." 

"Nobody  believes  in  idols  any  more,"  said  Lulu. 
"  The  native  people  used  to  but  they  were  ignorant  and 
wicked  and  the  missionaries  made  them  stop  it,  and 
broke  all  their  old,  heathen  images." 

"  I'm  not  afraid  of  missionaries,"  declared  Vida.  "  We 
are  going  to  bob  our  heads  whenever  we  see  an  idol." 

[81] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Then  I'll  slap  you,"  said  Lulu  with  determination. 

Florence  explained  that  she  wanted  a  shrine  for  the 
little  image  and  the  Princes  began  excitedly  discussing 
the  whereabouts  of  some  boxes. 

It  was  boy's  work,  and  they  much  preferred  the  ham- 
mer and  saw  to  Lulu's  work-basket. 

"We'll  make  some  little  stairs  in  front,"  said  Mana, 
"  so  you  can  set  a  candle  out  as  they  do  in  the  Catholic 
churches.  I  know  just  what  you  want." 

"You  will  turn  those  boys  into  heathens  again,  Miss 
Van  Voorhis,"  said  the  Count. 

"  I  want  to  be  a  heathen,"  said  Mana  with  a  defiant 
glance  at  Lulu,  who  only  replied  by  shutting  her  eyes 
and  assuming  an  expression  of  infinite  contempt. 

"  You  should  have  a  name  for  the  little  goddess,  Miss 
Van  Voorhis,"  suggested  Hammy. 

"Ko  Ung  means  'good  luck'  in  Japanese,"  said  the 
Count. 

"It  is  rather  incongruous  to  call  a  South  American 
lady  by  a  Japanese  name,"  said  Florence,  "  but  as  she 
was  given  to  an  American  girl  in  Hawaii  that  will  only 
add  to  the  romance.  We  will  call  her  Ko  Ung,  Count 
Tatsu." 

"  May  she  bring  you  all  the  luck  her  name  implies," 
said  the  little  Japanese,  bowing.  "  By  the  way,"  he  went 
on,  "  are  you  going  to  the  dance  on  the  Mohawk  ?  " 

[82] 


THE  BOWER 

"Oh,  did  you  get  an  invitation?"  cried  Vida.  The 
Princes  were  sitting  side  by  side  on  a  cretonne-covered 
box,  a  napkin  spread  across  their  knees,  trying  to  eat 
cake  in  a  genteel  manner  under  the  watchful  eye  of 
Lulu. 

Florence  showed  her  invitation. 

"  Put  it  in  the  calabash ! "  cried  Vida,  relinquishing  his 
corner  of  the  napkin  to  lay  the  card  in  the  bottom  of  the 
bowl. 

"Where  did  you  put  your  card,  Mr.  Todd?"  he 
asked. 

"  I  —  I  —  I  didn't  leave  any." 

"Well,"  said  Vida  politely,  "perhaps  you  wouldn't 
mind  leaving  one  now."  He  begged  another  from  the 
Count  and  laid  the  two  in  the  calabash  with  the  interest 
of  a  collector,  returning  to  his  seat  with  a  side-long  glance 
of  triumph  at  Lulu.  He  had  not  dropped  a  crumb. 

Bella  opened  the  lattice  door.  "  King  soldier  come," 
she  announced. 

A  native  man  on  horseback,  in  the  uniform  of  the 
Hawaiian  army,  rode  up  through  the  garden.  He  reined 
in  his  horse  by  the  veranda  where  the  party  was  sitting. 

"  Miss  Van  Voorhis  live  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Yes,"  said  Florence. 

He  leaned  from  his  saddle  to  hand  up  a  square  en- 
velope. Florence  turned  it  over  in  her  hand.  It  was  very 

[83] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

large,  bordered  with  gold  and  had  a  gilt  crown  stamped 
on  the  flaps. 

"Aloha!"  said  the  soldier,  and  then  volunteering 
amiably,  "  Invitation  to  the  King's  ball ;  hope  you  can 
come;"  he  wheeled  about  his  horse  and  trotted  off 
saluting  the  company  in  the  most  friendly  manner. 

"  Mama  Ross  got  hers  a  week  ago,"  said  Mana. 

"It's  the  ball  in  honour  of  the  Russian  officers,"  Mr. 
Todd  explained. 

"But  I  haven't  been  presented  to  the  King  yet." 

"He  knows  you  are  here,"  said  Hammy,  "and  he 
always  likes  to  make  it  pleasant  for  new-comers." 

"Let's  see  it!"  begged  Lulu,  and  Florence  handed 
her  the  card : 


THE  CHAMBERLAIN  OF  THE  HOUSEHOLD 

IS   COMMANDED   BY 

HIS  MAJESTY 

to  invite  Miss  VAN  VOORHIS  to  a  Ball 

at  lolani  Palace  on 
Wednesday,  May  the  2d,  at  9  o'clock. 
Full  dress. 

[84] 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 
The  Drive 

FLORENCE  was  shown  in  by  a  Chinese  servant 
to  a  cool  little  room  all  in  white  and  amber, 
where  she  sat  waiting,  card-case  in  hand;  she 
was   making  her  first  formal  call  on  Mrs.  Landry. 
A  hoarse  voice  suddenly  exclaimed  solemnly: 
"Damn  fool !" 

The  visitor  looked  about  somewhat  startled. 
Mrs.  Landry  came  in  laughing.  "  Don't  be  alarmed," 
she  said,  "it  is  only  the  parrot.  Keep  quiet,  Loretta! " 

"But  you  are  going  out,"  said  Florence,  "don't  let 
me  keep  you." 

The  widow  was  in  mauve,  with  a  charming  toque  of 
the  same  colour  and  was  drawing  on  a  pair  of  long,  em- 
broidered silk  gloves. 

"  I'm  awfully  sorry,"  she  said,  "  why  didn't  you  tele- 
phone ?  I'm  going  out  driving  with  Dick  Leigh-Garrett. 
He  won't  be  here  for  some  time,  though.  He  always 
keeps  people  waiting,  so  do  stay  till  he  comes.  Let's  go 

[85] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

out  on  the  veranda  where  we  can  watch  for  him  and 
talk.  Sit  down  there,  and  I'll  take  the  hammock.  This 
porch  is  hardly  wide  enough  to  turn  around  in." 

"Then  you  haven't  always  lived  here?"  asked 
Florence. 

"No,  indeed,"  said  the  widow.  "The  old  Landry 
house  is  up  the  Valley.  You'll  see  it  when  you  drive  that 
way,  a  great,  dreary,  damp  place,  with  two  iron  lions  at 
the  gate.  I  rented  it  after  Joshua  died  and  took  this 
little  den  which  is  quite  large  enough  for  a  lone-lorn 
woman." 

"  It's  very  pretty,"  said  her  visitor. 

"  I  like  it,  the  other  reminds  me  too  much  of  Joshua." 

"  Damn  fool ! "  observed  Loretta. 

"Oh,  that  bird!"  cried' the  widow.  "That's  the  only 
thing  it  says.  So  you  are  going  to  stay  here  ?  "  she  went 
on.  "I'm  so  glad.  Have  you  had  an  invitation  to  the 
King's  Ball  yet  ?  I  saw  Rex  last  night  and  he  said  he 
would  send  you  one.  I  told  him  you  were  at  Mrs. 
Ross 's;  how  do  you  like  it  there  ?  " 

"Very  much,  indeed.  I  never  knew  any  one  so 
kind." 

"I  don't  deny  she  has  her  virtues,  but  I  get  a  little 
weary  of  the  daughter  of  the  Kamehamehas,  and  her 
everlasting  niece." 

"The  girl  looks  very  fierce,"  said  Florence.  "I  was 
[86] 


THE  DRIVE 

afraid  of  her  at  first,  she  glared  at  me  so,  but  she  is 
really  a  soft-hearted  creature." 

"  She's  a  sheep  in  wolf's  clothing." 

"Poor  Emma!" 

"Poor  Emma!"  echoed  Mrs.  Landry  scornfully. 
"  She  is  just  like  all  the  half -whites,  only  not  so  pretty 
as  some.  They  never  say  a  word,  whether  from 
stupidity  or  shyness  I  don't  know,  and  yet  they  al- 
ways have  a  crowd  of  men  adoring  their  footsteps. 
Poor  Emma!  Mrs.  Ross  complains  about  the  snubbing 
her  niece  gets,  but  I've  never  seen  any  of  it.  As  for 
our  girls,  they  have  all  they  can  do  to  hold  their  own 
against  the  attractions  of  the  half -whites." 

"I  would  not  mind  that  kind  of  snubbing  very 
much,"  said  Florence. 

"  The  upper  class  natives  and  half -whites  hold  a  very 
good  position  here;  I  suppose  it  is  because  the  King  and 
Court  are  Hawaiians.  Their  standing  in  society  would 
soon  disappear  if  the  monarchy  went  out." 

"  I  hope  it  never  may." 

"It  would  be  good-bye  to  romance  in  Honolulu  if 
ever  that  happened.  Imagine  this  lovely  island  with  no 
King,  no  Royal  Court,  no  native  army.  Even  the  navy 
is  a  joy  forever.  Do  you  know  the  extent  of  the  King's 
navee  ?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  men-of-war  ?  How  many  has  he  ?  " 
[87] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  One  ship ! "  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "  The  Kaimiloa.  Oh, 
no,  without  the  King,  Hawaii  would  be  like  the  play  of 
Hamlet  with  the  immortal  Dane  left  out." 

"  It  is  certainly  interesting  here  now,"  said  Florence. 
" Long  live  the  King!" 

There  was  a  curious  patter  of  tiny  feet  on  the  floor. 
She  looked  down  and  saw  Loretta  ambling  along  the 
veranda.  The  bird  climbed  up  a  post  with  the  aid  of  its 
hooked  beak  and  sat  on  the  railing,  her  green  feathers 
smoothed  down,  her  head  cocked  on  one  side. 

"Pretty  Polly,"  said  Florence.  "Polly  want  a  crack- 
er?" 

"  Damn  fool ! "  was  the  quick  and  brilliant  retort. 

Mrs.  Landry  laughed.  "You  brought  that  on  your- 
self. It  is  her  only  repartee.  But  I  want  to  ask  you  be- 
fore Dick  comes,  what  have  you  done  with  Walter 
Sprague?" 

"  He  has  gone  back  to  Maui,"  said  Florence. 

"  So  you  have  cast  him  off.  Poor  Walter,  I  can  imagine 
him  leaving  with  a  wreath  about  his  neck  and  the  tear 
of  sentiment  in  his  eye." 

"Please  don't  talk  about  him,"  said  Florence.  "I 
want  to  forget  his  very  existence.  You'll  make  me  wish 
I  had  gone  back  on  the  Suez." 

"You'll  never  be  sorry  you  missed  that  trip,"  said 
Mrs.  Landry.  "Wait  till  the  spirit  of  Honolulu  gets 

[88] 


THE  DRIVE 

into  your  blood,  you'll  be  as  frivolous  as  the  rest  of  us, 
dancing  and  flirting  and  riding — " 

"  Well,  I  like  riding  at  any  rate,  and  I  always  rode  a 
great  deal  on  my  father's  ranch  in  California.  Those 
horses  the  Bonner  girls  had  were  beauties." 

"  Oh,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Landry,  "  I  hate  horses.  I  know 
it  is  an  awful  thing  to  say,  but  I  hate  horses  and  violets 
and  nice  long  walks  and  a  Sunday  at  home." 

"  But  surely  you  like  a  fine  horse  for  driving  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit,"  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "  When  a  man  takes 
you  out  for  a  drive  why  on  earth  should  he  have  a  beast 
that  nearly  pulls  his  arms  off  and  keeps  his  attention 
fixed  every  moment  ?  It  isn't  complimentary  to  the 
lady." 

"  I  don't  believe  you'd  like  it,  either,"  said  Florence, 
"if  he  drove  up  with  a  donkey." 

"Yes,  I  should,"  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "If  it  were  the 
fashion  I'd  just  love  to  jog  along  in  a  donkey-cart.  I  am 
going  out  driving  now  and  I  do  hope  Captain  Leigh- 
Garrett  won't  bring  along  one  of  his  lively  prancing 
steeds.  They  shy  and  they  kick,  and  they  stand  upon 
their  hind  legs  and  paw  the  air  —  oh,  I've  been  fright- 
ened out  of  my  wits. " 

"Then  why  go?" 

"Because  Dick  is  such  a  charming  fellow!  He's  an 
Englishman  and  the  handsomest  man  in  Honolulu." 

[89] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Wasn't  he  the  tall  man  on  the  wharf  to  meet  you 
when  we  arrived  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that's  Dick  —  you  can't  forget  him  if  you've 
ever  met  him.  But  oh,  my  dear,  I  wish  you  could 
have  seen  him  at  the  Coronation  Ball  in  the  full  dress 
uniform  of  the  Huzzars.  All  scarlet  and  silk  and  white 
and  gold,  the  most  gorgeous  creature  you  ever  beheld." 

"  But  what  is  an  English  Huzzar  doing  out  here  ?  " 

"Nobody  knows,  that's  what  makes  him  so  inter- 
esting. He  must  be  a  great  swell  at  home,  for  the  silver 
buttons  on  his  hunting  coat  have  three  feathers  on 
them.  That  means  the  Prince  of  Wales  is  Master  of  the 
Hounds,  doesn't  it?  He  says  he  owes  so  much  money 
he  came  here  to  '  lay  low '  and  let  his  income  polish  off 
his  debts." 

"  Has  he  left  the  army  for  good  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  so.  He  talks  of  going  back.  It  may  be 
leave  of  absence,  or  perhaps  he's  suspended  or  some- 
thing. The  Mohawks  call  him  'the  gilt-edged  cad.'  He's 
a  great  friend  of  the  King's,  though,  and  Rex  made  him 
an  equerry.  I  believe  the  King  likes  to  have  handsome 
men  on  his  staff.  Dick  is  fair  and  Rex  is  dark,  and  they 
are  nearly  the  same  height;  a  stunning  looking  couple, 
and  with  Curtis  laukea  —  he  is  chamberlain,  you  know 
—  they  make  a  splendid  show  in  their  uniforms." 

"Uniforms  and  brass  buttons  improve  a  man  won- 
[90] 


THE  DRIVE 

derfully,"  said  Florence,  smiling.  "  Mr.  Todd  isn't  the 
same  person  in  his  shore  clothes." 

"  Oh,  he  wouldn't  shine  if  he  were  covered  with  stars 
and  garters,  but  there  is  one  man  here  who  looks  like  a 
Roman  emperor  even  in  a  tennis  suit,  and  that's  Christo- 
pher Maxwell.  But  let  me  tell  you  that  he's  my  prop- 
erty; who  borrows  Christopher  Maxwell,  borrows 
trouble." 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid,  I'm  not  likely  to  meet  him, 
as  I  don't  intend  to  go  out  at  all  while  I'm  here." 

"Don't  be  a  silly,"  said  Mrs.  Landry.  "  But  I  won't 
worry  about  you  —  when  you  once  get  caught  in  the 
whirl  you  can't  draw  back  —  you'll  meet  Christopher 
Maxwell.  He's  the  sort  that  men  call  good  looking.  He 
has  thick  grey  hair  and  black  eyebrows,  and  flashing 
eyes,  and  a  sort  of  Marcus  Aurelius  look  of  power  that 
makes  common  people  cringe,  and  yet  I  heard  a  little 
old  maid  describe  him  as  the  kind  of  man  that  would 
make  the  dreariest  tea  or  tamest  whist  party  a  scene  of 
wild  excitement  by  his  very  presence." 

"  Damn  fool !  damn  fool ! "  screamed  Loretta,  curtsey- 
ing on  the  railing  with  outspread  wings. 

"There's  Dick  Leigh-Garrett,"  said  Mrs.  Landry, 
rising. 

"  Then  I'll  say  good-bye,  and  do  come  and  see  me.  I 
must  show  you  my  little  bower." 

[91] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

The  two  walked  down  the  path  to  the  gate. 

"  Heavens ! "  cried  the  widow.  "  What  on  earth  is  he 
driving ! " 

A  tall,  fair  man,  in  a  smart  trap,  was  holding  in  two 
horses  that  were  harnessed  in  tandem.  They  were  almost 
unmanageable  and  he  called  out  with  only  a  hasty  side 
glance,  "Get  up  quick.  I  can't  help  you  in,  but  I'll 
hold  them  still." 

"I  wouldn't  get  in  that  thing  for  any  consideration 
on  earth!"  cried  Mrs.  Landry. 

"  Don't  be  a  fool,  Sally,"  said  the  man.  "  Hurry  up  — 
I  can't  hold  'em  in  long." 

"But  those  beasts  are  awful.  I  know  it's  the  first 
time  you've  driven  them  tandem." 

Florence  was  looking  at  the  horses  with  undisguised 
admiration. 

"  You're  not  afraid,  are  you  ?  "  said  the  man  to  her. 

"Not  a  bit." 

"  Then  you  climb  in,"  he  cried.  "  Sally  can  introduce 
us.  I  am  Dick  Leigh-Garrett  and  you're  Miss  Van  Voor- 
his.  Come  along ! " 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  said,  drawing  back. 

"  Go  with  Dick,"  said  the  widow,  "  I'll  help  you  up. 
He'll  be  furious  if  you  don't." 

"But  you—" 

"  Don't  mind  me.     Hurry  up." 
[92] 


THE  DRIVE 

Captain  Leigh-Garrett  shifted  the  reins  for  a  moment 
to  give  Florence  a  hand.  The  horses  bounded  forward 
and  were  half  way  down  the  street  before  she  caught  her 
breath.  She  felt  that  she  had  been  rather  hasty  in  saying 
she  wasn't  afraid,  but  she  gripped  the  seat  and  held  on 
pluckily  as  they  swerved  round  sharp  corners  and  nar- 
rowly escaped  passing  carts.  Carriages  and  traps  made 
way  for  them  hastily,  while  children  and  dogs  scattered 
to  the  sidewalks. 

"You're  a  trump!"  said  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  be- 
tween his  teeth. 

The  young  girl  made  no  answer.  She  watched  the 
man  drive  with  increasing  confidence  and  admiration, 
as  they  threaded  their  way  through  the  narrow  streets. 
It  was  not  till  they  swung  into  the  broad  straight  avenue 
of  Beretania  Street  that  the  horses  settled  into  a  steady 
trot. 

"They're  all  right  now,"  said  the  Captain.  "Tandem 
is  much  harder  driving  than  four-in-hand;  the  horses 
don't  balance.  When  you  see  the  leader  wobble  from 
side  to  side,  it  means  the  driver  is  a  duffer.  See  how 
steady  this  one  is  going  and  he's  proud  as  Billy,  too.  A 
good  leader  always  shows  off  a  bit.  He's  a  pure  Arab. 
I've  some  good  blood  in  my  stables." 

"Have  you  many  horses  here?"  asked  Florence  in 
surprise. 

[93] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  I  keep  a  livery  stable." 

She  laughed  incredulously. 

"  It's  true,"  he  said.  "  I  had  to  earn  my  living  out  here 
some  way,  and  as  I  know  all  about  horses  I  went  into 
the  gee-gee  business.  The  only  other  accomplishment 
I  have  is  boning  a  turkey,  but  I  couldn't  turn  that  into 
a  lucrative  profession.  I  have  two  partners.  They  put 
in  more  money  than  I  did,  but  then  it's  equal  all  round, 
for  I  know  more  than  they  do.  We  have  the  best  horses 
in  town  at  the  Royal  Livery  Stables.  God!"  he 
muttered  an  oath  under  his  breath.  "Here  comes  a 
hay-wagon.  Hold  on,  now,  for  there's  going  to  be 
trouble." 

The  leader  balked  and  shied.  "He's  only  showing 
off,"  said  Dick.  "  But  we'll  turn  down  this  lane,  all  the 
same."  They  swept  round  the  corner  on  one  wheel. 

"Discretion  is  the  greater  part  of  valour,"  said 
Florence  breathlessly,  "we'll  live  to  laugh  another 
day." 

They  returned  along  King  Street,  a  wide  road  bord- 
ered by  handsome  residences,  buried  deep  in  trees  and 
gardens.  The  horses  were  now  well  in  hand,  and  Flor- 
ence had  an  opportunity  for  the  first  time  to  look  at 
the  captain  who  was  an  extremely  handsome  man.  His 
face  was  sunburned  a  healthy  red  that  contrasted  with 
his  yellow  moustache.  He  had  strong,  well-marked 

[94] 


THE  DRIVE 

features,  and  bold  blue  eyes  that  scrutinized  her 
under  their  dark  lashes  with  evident  admiration.  She 
looked  up  and  met  his  glance  and  her  heart  beat  a  little 
faster. 

"  Why  did  you  come  to  Honolulu  ?  "  she  asked  hastily, 
making  conversation,  and  then  blushing  at  her  apparent 
inquisitiveness. 

"  For  my  country's  good,"  said  Dick  frankly.  "  You'll 
find  some  queer  fish  out  here,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  and 
I'm  one  of  them.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  a  man's  '  going 
to  the  wall  ? '  Well,  Honolulu's  the  wall." 

"  I  shouldn't  have  thought  of  it  in  that  light." 

"It's  an  improvement  on  putting  a  bullet  through 
your  empty  head.  But  I've  no  quarrel  with  Honolulu. 
I've  been  in  worse  places.  There  aren't  any  snakes  here, 
or  jungle-fever,  or  gentlemen  with  assegais,  and  I've 
had  experiences  with  all  three.  This  place  suits  me  and 
the  King  is  a  good  fellow." 

"  I  haven't  seen  him  yet,"  said  Florence. 

"  We  played  poker  last  night  at  the  boat-house  and 
the  King  was  A  1.  He  told  the  fellows  to  drop  all  cere- 
mony and  just  call  him  *  Rex,'  and  what  do  you  think 
they  said,  'All  right,  Your  Majesty!'  Oh,  Kalakaua 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales  are  the  best  bred  men  I've  ever 
met." 

"  Is  he  always  so  dignified  ?  " 
[95] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Well,"  said  Dick,  "it  isn't  exactly  dignity,  for  he 
can  twang  a  eukalele  and  sing : 

"  Hoky  poky  winky  wum 
How  do  you  like  your  taters  done, 
Boiled  or  with  their  jackets  on, 
Says  the  King  of  the  Sandwich  Islands" 

and  whoop  it  up  with  the  rest  of  the  crowd  and  still  he 
keeps  his  distance  all  the  same.  He  leads  the  fun  and 
yet  no  one  dares  to  cross  the  line.  Even  the  cheekiest 
kind  of  a  cad  braces  up  and  behaves  when  he's  with  the 
Xing.  We  had  a  good  joke  on  him  once,  though.  Out  at 
his  beach-house  at  Waikiki  we  were  sitting  in  the  lanaii 
looking  at  the  moonlight.  We  had  been  at  poker  half 
the  night  and  the  King  was  drinking  champagne 
in  goblets.  It  was  a  pretty  sight  on  the  water  with  the 
moon  shining  and  all  that,  and  the  King  called  out  to 
the  band  boys  to  play  something  appropriate  to  the  oc- 
casion. And  what  do  you  think  they  gave  us  ?  "  The 
Captain  laughed  aloud,  'The  Old  Man's  Drunk 
Again!'" 

"  Oh,  I  think  that's  a  horrid  story,"  said  Florence. 

"Well,  cut  it  out,"  said  the  Captain  cheerfully,  "and 
go  back  a  topic.  Why  did  you  come  to  Honolulu  ?  But 
I  won't  ask,  for  Mrs.  Landry  told  me  all  about  it." 

She  blushed  up  to  her  eyes.  "  Everybody  knows  every- 
[96] 


THE  DRIVE 

thing  here,  it  seems.  Mrs.  Landry  tells  me  '  there  are  no 
secrets  in  the  tropics.' " 

"That's  the  reason  I'm  so  frank  about  my  own  af- 
fairs; I  want  to  tell  you  the  worst  about  myself,  and  tell 
it  my  own  way.  You'll  hear  enough  about  me  before 
you're  here  very  long,  and  I  want  you  to  stand  by  me 
and  not  believe  half  the  stories  they  tell.  I  own  I'm 
something  of  a  black  sheep,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  but  I'm 
not  half  so  black  as  I'm  painted.  I  really  have  quite  a 
number  of  white  spots.  Will  you  let  me  come  and 
gambol  on  your  lawn?  I  think  we  might  be  pretty 
good  pals  if  we  got  acquainted." 

Florence  looked  at  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  doubtfully. 
In  spite  of  his  good  looks  and  air  of  frank  fellowship 
there  was  a  suggestion  of  coarseness,  almost  of  brutality, 
in  the  man,  that  she  instinctively  felt,  though  she  did  not 
formulate  the  thought  in  her  mind.  She  was  too  un- 
used to  the  ways  of  the  world  to  know  how  to  refuse  his 
request,  especially  as  she  was  sitting  beside  him  driv- 
ing behind  his  tandem." 

"  You  may  come  and  see  me,  if  you  mean  that,"  she 
said,  and  then,  a  little  embarrassed  at  the  lack  of 
warmth  in  the  invitation,  added : 

"  Don't  I  hear  music  somewhere  ?  " 

"Good  idea!"  said  Dick.  "The  band  is  playing  at 
Emma  Square.  We'll  drive  round  and  see  the  crowd. 

[97] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

I  don't  know  how  the  horses  will  stand  it,  but  you're 
not  afraid,  are  you  ?  " 

"  Not  since  I've  seen  you  drive." 

"  You're  a  brick,"  said  the  Captain. 


[98] 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 

The  Accident 

IN  the  centre  of  Emma  Square  was  a  band-stand, 
where   Mr.   Berger   and    his    Hawaiians    played 
melodiously  while  all  Honolulu  gathered  to  listen. 
At  the  four  corners  of  the  park,  turn-stiles  admitted 
crowds  on  foot;  native  girls  in  gay  holakus  garlanded 
in  wreaths;  beautiful  large-eyed  half -whites,  the  colour 
of  golden  cream;  young  men  in  duck,  with  cummer- 
bunds and  hat-bands  of  coloured  silk;  Chinese  merchants; 
Japanese  nurse  maids  in  kimonos  leading  small  befrilled, 
besashed,  bare-kneed  children.  The  benches  were  filled, 
and  more  people  walked  back  and  forth  or  gathered 
in  groups  under  the  trees.  Small  boys  frolicked  on  the 
paths  occasionally  rebuked  by  a  bulky  brown  policeman 
in  white,  with  a  large  shining  star  on  his  breast.    The 
four  streets  surrounding  Emma  Square  were  crowded 
with  carriages,  some  drawn  in  the  shade  by  the  side  of 
the  road,  others  slowly  driving  round  and  round. 
As  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  turned  his  leader  int&  the 
[99] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

procession  Florence  set  her  teeth  and  held  on.  The 
horses  were  frightened  by  the  crashes  of  music,  but 
Dick  kept  them  steady. 

The  Bonner  girls,  on  horseback,  surrounded  by  a 
number  of  young  men  were  the  first  people  they  ran 
into  —  almost  literally.  Florence  gave  them  a  nervous 
bow,  but  Polly  Bonner  cried  out  in  her  loud  voice, 
"  Why  don't  you  look  where  you're  going,  Dickie  ?  " 

The  leader  was  refusing  to  turn  the  corner  properly 
and  both  horses  backed. 

"  You're  running  foul  of  the  Pawtuckets  /  "  screamed 
the  other  Bonner  girl. 

Florence  glanced  apprehensively  over  her  shoulder 
to  see  a  group  of  young  men  scattering.  Dick  laughed 
as  they  rounded  the  corner  safely,  where  they  were 
hemmed  in  by  other  vehicles  and  the  horses  could  do 
nothing  but  dance  sideways  and  prick  up  their  ears. 

"Those  were  the  Pawtuckets"  said  the  Captain. 
"That's  Christopher  Maxwell.  Look  quick!  The  one 
taking  off  his  hat  to  some  ladies.  Sally,  by  jove!  She's 
lost  no  time  getting  here." 

The  widow,  radiant  in  her  mauve  gown,  was  talking 
to  a  distinguished  looking  man  in  white  flannels,  who 
stood  hat  in  hand  before  her.  Florence  turned  to  look 
at  him  again,  a  striking  figure,  that  stood  out  among 
the  crowd  with  a  certain  strong  inolividuality,  and 
[100] 


THE  ACCIDENT 

though  his  clean  shaven  face,  flushed  with  the  high 
colour  of  health,  showed  no  signs  of  age,  his  hair  was 
of  a  crisp  iron  grey.  As  he  talked  he  threw  out  both 
arms  in  a  fine  gesture  of  enthusiasm. 

"  He  is  inviting  the  crowd  to  a  bun-struggle  of  some 
sort,"  said  Dick  contemptuously.  "  You  never  see  him 
but  he's  doing  the '  Man  from  Cooks.' " 

"He  does  look  like  a  Roman  emperor,"  said  Flor- 
ence. "  All  the  other  men  seem  common  beside  him." 

The  Captain  scowled.  "That's  the  glitter  of  eleven 
millions,"  he  said.  "Watch  Sally  setting  her  cap  at 
him.  She'll  spoil  her  chances  in  that  quarter  if  she's 
seen  much  with  me,  for  Max  has  no  use  for  Dickie.  I 
tell  you  there  isn't  a  match-making  mother  or  a  design- 
ing widow  in  Honolulu  who  hasn't  sharpened  her  claws 
on  Christopher  Maxwell." 

"  I  thought  Mrs.  Landry  — "  Florence  looked  up  at 
the  Captain  doubtfully. 

"Oh,  you  mean  me?"  he  said  shamelessly  .  .  . 
"  But  I'm  a  detrimental.  It's  the  dollars  she's  after." 

There  was  a  crash  of  music,  and  then  the  Hawaiian 
voices  took  up  the  refrain  in  chorus : 

"Be  still ,  my  pu  uwai ! 
E  nae  iki  nei, 
Hanu  malie  nahe  nahe, 
Sweet  lei  Lehua" 
[101] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

The  horses  dashed  suddenly  forward,  excited  by  the 
music.  Dick  pulled  and  steadied  them  with  great  diffi- 
culty as  they  turned  out  into  Emma  Street. 

"  We  nearly  knocked  over  that  man  with  the  red  band 
around  his  hat,"  said  Florence. 

"  Didn't  you  recognize  him  ?  That  was  Hammy  Todd. 
I  wish  we  had  shaken  him  up  a  bit.  It's  rummy  the  way 
you  can  judge  a  whole  man-of-war  by  one  officer,  like 
a  box  of  cigars.  Todd's  ship  is  the  muffiest  one  in  the  ser- 
vice. They  have  waffles  and  maple  syrup  for  breakfast, 
and  psalm  singing  on  Sundays,  and  one  of  the  men  keeps 
a  canary.  The  Pawtucket  is  a  bully  ship,  good  men, 
good  wine,  all  round  sport.  The  Russian  man-of-war 
is  a  racketty,  rowdy  tub,  wetter  inside  than  out,  and  I 
defy  any  man  to  leave  her  sober.  I  know  the  whole  lot, 
and  if  you'll  come  on  Thursday  I'll  introduce  you  to 
the  pick  of  'em." 

Several  of  the  carriages,  on  turning  into  Emma  Street, 
drove  off,  but  Dick  started  his  leader  to  make  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  park  again. 

"  The  horses  are  getting  awfully  nervous,"  said  Flor- 
ence, "do  you  think  they'll  stand  going  all  the  way 
round  another  time  ?  " 

"They're  all  right,"  the  leader  was  dancing  skit- 
tishly — "  but   you    haven't    answered    my    question. 
You'll  come  Thursday,  won't  you  ?  " 
[102] 


THE  ACCIDENT 

"But  I've  already  refused." 

"  Then  change  your  mind  —  I  want  something  jolly 
to  look  forward  to." 

Just  then  a  large  painted  ball,  thrown  by  some  child 
in  the  park,  went  flying  past  the  leader's  head,  falling  on 
the  ground  in  front  of  him.  He  shied  suddenly,  fright- 
ening the  second  horse. 

"Damn  these  brutes!"  muttered  Dick,  winding  the 
reins  about  his  wrists  and  pulling  hard.  "  Don't  jump  — 
hold  on!" 

There  was  wild  commotion  among  the  crowd.  Pedes- 
trians scattered,  carriages  and  traps  tried  to  turn  out  of 
the  road.  One  man  jumped  in  front  of  the  leader  waving 
his  arms,  adding  to  the  creature's  terror.  The  young 
girl  uttered  no  sound  but  held  on  to  the  seat  with  both 
hands,  only  giving  one  apprehensive  glance  downward, 
for  the  trap  was  a  high  one.  The  horses  were  plunging 
wildly.  Even  then  Dick  could  have  managed  them,  but 
a  basket  phaeton  crowded  with  young  children,  and 
driven  by  a  terrified  governess,  got  in  the  way;  the  in- 
fants lifted  up  their  voices  and  peeped  like  a  nest  full 
of  frightened  sparrows.  As  Dick  made  a  desperate 
effort  to  avoid  them,  pulling  violently  on  the  reins, 
the  horses  reared  backwards,  crashing  the  trap  into 
the  trunk  of  a  tree  with  such  violence  that  the  two 
occupants  were  thrown  out  with  the  force  of  a  catapult. 
[103] 


THE  GIRL  FROM 'HOME 

It  all  happened  so  suddenly  that  Florence  had  no 
chance  to  realize  that  she  was  falling;  there  seemed  no 
interval  in  her  mind  between  the  moment  of  the  shock, 
and  the  time  she  found  herself  in  Christopher  Max- 
well's arms,  clinging  convulsively  to  his  shoulders  as  he 
half  dragged,  half  carried  her  through  the  crowd  to  a 
bench  under  a  tree  by  the  wayside. 

"  Are  you  hurt  ? "  he  asked,  bending  anxiously  over 
her  as  she  struggled  to  regain  her  composure,  straight- 
ening her  hat  mechanically,  smoothing  her  dress  and 
then  looking  up  into  his  face. 

"No,  no,"  she  said  breathlessly,  "I'm  all  right.  Go 
and  see  if  the  Captain's  hurt ! " 

The  crowd  had  closed  in  about  the  scene  of  the  acci- 
dent. People  were  holding  the  horses'  heads,  others  were 
righting  the  overturned  trap.  Florence  stood  up  shak- 
ily, steadying  herself  by  the  trunk  of  the  tree  to  look  on 
as  the  crowd  parted  before  a  group  of  men  carrying  a 
heavy  inanimate  object.  It  was  Captain  Leigh-Garrett, 
white  and  limp,  his  arms  hanging  down  and  dragging 
along  the  grass.  They  laid  him  on  the  ground,  while 
an  old  man  with  a  white  beard,  evidently  a  doctor,  bent 
over  him.  The  Pawtuckeis  formed  a  line  about  the 
prostrate  figure  keeping  back  the  crowd  that  craned 
and  surged  behind  them. 

Suddenly  she  felt  her  arm  clutched  violently,  and 
[104] 


THE  ACCIDENT 

turned  to  see  Mrs.  Landry,  pale  and  wild-eyed,  holding 
to  her  desperately.  Even  at  that  moment  Florence  was 
surprised  to  see  the  widow,  usually  so  calm  and  cynical, 
in  such  a  state  of  agitation.  She  talked  in  a  stifled, 
hoarse  voice  like  an  angry  person. 

"Dick  is  dead!"  she  cried.  "Don't  tell  me  he  will 
live  —  I  know  he  will  die  —  I  can't  bear  it ! "  She  seemed 
unconscious  of  what  she  was  doing  or  saying.  "  It  is  the 
end,"  she  went  on.  "He  is  dead.  It  is  the  end  of  the 
world  for  me."  She  gave  a  choked  gasp  and  staggered. 
Florence  pulled  her  down  on  the  bench  where  she  lay 
back  moaning  and  wringing  her  hands.  Maxwell  ran 
back  to  them. 

"  He's  coming  to,"  he  said. 

Mrs.  Landry  began  to  revive,  drawing  long  breaths, 
holding  Florence's  hand,  and  leaning  weakly  against 
her  skirts. 

The  doctor  had  broken  a  capsule  in  a  handkerchief 
which  he  held  to  Dick's  face.  The  effect  was  surprising. 
The  young  man  sat  up  suddenly,  looking  about  with 
the  intent  strained  gaze  of  a  near-sighted  person  at  the 
faces  bending  over  him. 

"What's  the  matter?"  he  said.  "I'm  all  right."  He 
tried  to  rise,  tottering  to  his  feet  by  the  aid  of  a  dozen 
willing  arms.  "Don't  let  anybody  touch  those  horses. 
I'm  going  to  drive  them  home  myself." 
[105] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

He  staggered  over  to  the  bench  under  the  tree,  making 
no  attempt  to  brush  off  the  dust  that  covered  him  from 
head  to  foot.  He  put  on  his  hat  all  battered  as  it  was. 
and  said  more  firmly,  "  I'm  all  right.  Just  had  my  wind 
knocked  out.  It  was  that  basket  full  of  kids.  Come  along 
Miss  Van  Voorhis,  I'll  drive  you  home." 

"  Don't  go,"  said  Christopher  Maxwell  in  a  low  tone, 
There  was  tenderness  in  his  voice,  and  command,  and 
something  deeper  and  stronger  that  Florence  had  felt 
with  her  whole  being  from  the  first  moment  his  arms 
closed  about  her. 

The  horses  were  being  led  up  by  officious  bystanders. 

"  Come  along,"  said  the  Captain.  "  It  isn't  like  you 
to  hang  back.  You  are  plucky  enough  for  anything." 

Maxwell  laid  his  hand  lightly  on  Florence's  arm.  She 
answered  with  a  glance. 

"Oh,  Dick!"  cried  Mrs.  Landry,  "you've  given  us  a 
terrible  fright!" 

The  Captain  looked  at  her  with  close  scrutiny,  taking 
in  her  pale  face,  her  shaking  hands,  the  embroidered 
silk  gloves,  torn  to  ribbons,  and  grinned  compre- 
hensively. 

"  I  dare  you  to  come  with  me,  Sally." 

To  Florence's  intense  surprise  Mrs.  Landry  stood  up. 

"I'll  go,  Dick,"  she  said. 

The  battered  trap  was  brought  up.  Captain  Leigh- 
[106] 


THE  ACCIDENT 

Garrett  took  the  driver's  seat ;  Mrs.  Landry,  pale  but 
composed,  and  with  the  concentrated  courage  that  leads 
heroes  to  the  cannon's  mouth,  climbed  up  beside  him. 
The  horses  were  freed,  and  as  they  started  off  with  a 
spring  and  a  jump,  the  crowd  gave  a  cheer. 

It  was  growing  late.  The  band-boys,  dispensing  with 
the  rest  of  the  programme,  stowed  their  instruments 
into  bags  and  cases  and  departed.  The  crowds,  after 
lingering  in  excited  little  groups  to  talk  over  the  acci- 
dent, melted  gradually  away.  The  carriages  drove  off;  a 
few  belated  children  lingered  to  frolic  on  the  grass 
while  Florence  and  Maxwell  sat  on  the  bench  under 
the  algeroba  tree,  talking  like  two  friends  who  had  just 
met  after  a  long  separation. 


[107] 


CHAPTER  NINE 
The  Dance  on  the  Mohawk 

FLORENCE  had  been  sincere  in  her  intention  of 
refusing  all  invitations,  but  she  began  to  find 
it  almost  impossible  to  resist  going  to  the  dance 
on  the  Mohawk.  She  was  young,  her  surroundings  were 
new  and  interesting,  and  every  path  opening  before  her 
seemed  a  pleasant  one.  Since  her  school  days  life 
had  been  dull  and  grey.  Her  mother's  illness  and 
death,  and  the  long  term  of  mourning,  had  filled  in  the 
years  between  childhood  and  her  arrival  in  Honolulu, 
and  this  was  the  first  time  that  she  had  the  chance  of 
enjoying  the  gaiety  of  youth.  Her  life,  devoted  to  the 
sick-room,  had  been  shut  off  from  the  ordinary  amuse- 
ments that  fall  to  the  lot  of  an  attractive  young  girl,  so 
that  the  social  life  of  Honolulu  had  all  the  excitement 
of  novelty,  and  she  found  herself  looking  forward  with 
eagerness  to  the  dance  she  had  at  first  resolutely  refused 
to  attend. 

Dick  Leigh-Garrett  was  laid  up  for  several  days  after 
[108] 


THE  DANCE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 

the  accident,  but  he  sent  Florence  a  note  begging  her  not 
to  forget  him,  and  assuring  her  that  he  would  be  well 
enough  to  attend  the  King  on  the  Mohawk,  where  he 
looked  forward  to  seeing  her.  With  this  letter  he  sent 
a  basket  tied  with  ribbons  containing  six  red  apples. 
Florence  hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  this  gift  till  Mrs. 
Ross  assured  her  that  apples  were  a  great  luxury  in 
Honolulu,  and  these  must  have  come  in  by  a  sailing 
vessel  from  California. 

"I  should  think  he  would  have  sent  flowers,"  said 
Florence. 

"They  never  do,"  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "We  have 
too  many.  A  friend  of  mine,  who  was  a  Mormon 
Missionary  here,  sent  me  a  crate  of  potatoes  when  he 
went  back  to  Utah,  the  largest  you  ever  saw.  That's 
the  kind  of  present  Hawaiians  appreciate." 

Lieutenant  Todd  came  up  to  call  and  inquire  after 
Florence's  health.  He  had  been  very  much  exercised 
about  the  accident,  and  implored  her  never  to  trust  her- 
self again  with  Captain  Leigh-Garrett.  Hammy  also 
put  in  a  plea  for  the  Mohawk  dance.  Several  of  his  fel- 
low officers  had  seen  the  attractive  stranger  at  Emma 
Square  and  sent  word  through  Hammy  that  they  would 
be  honoured  by  her  presence  on  board. 

Mrs.  Landry  walked  over  one  evening  to  ask  if  Flor- 
ence was  going.  The  widow  was  as  cool  and  cynical  as 
[109] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

ever  and  laughed  at  herself  for  doing  what  she  called 
"  heroics  "  in  driving  home  with  Dick. 

"I  didn't  want  to  go  a  bit,"  she  said,  "and  I  was 
frightened  to  death,  but  I  cannot  resist  taking  the 
centre  of  the  stage." 

"You  certainly  brought  down  the  house,"  said 
Florence,  laughing;  she  could  see  that  Mrs.  Landry 
was  trying  to  make  light  of  the  exhibition  of  feeling  she 
had  made  about  Dick  Leigh-Garrett. 

"  It  was  foolish  of  me  all  the  same,"  said  her  visitor, 
"for  I  left  Christopher  Maxwell  to  fall  into  your  net." 

The  girl  was  angry  to  feel  herself  blushing. 

"Has  he  been  to  see  you  since?"  asked  Mrs. 
Landry,  and  Florence  shrewdly  suspected  that  one 
question  to  be  the  real  object  of  the  widow's  visit. 

"He  came  to  call,"  she  answered,  "just  to  inquire 
how  I  was  and  ask  if  I  were  going  to  the  dance  on  the 
Mohawk." 

The  widow  jumped  up.  "  That  explains  it ! "  she  said, 
waving  a  silk  finger  at  Florence.  "  Now  I  know  why  all 
your  resolutions  are  thrown  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 
Of  course  you  are  going!  But  didn't  I  warn  you  he  was 
my  property?" 

Florence  had  had  no  time  to  think  or  analyse  her 
emotions,  but  from  the  moment  she  first  met  Christopher 
Maxwell  her  life  in  Hawaii  had  taken  on  a  deeper, 
[110] 


THE  DANCE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 

richer  note.  They  seemed  to  understand  each  other  so 
perfectly;  as  he  had  said,  they  "spoke  the  same  lan- 
guage." She  winced  under  the  widow's  banter,  and 
could  not  trust  herself  to  reply. 

"I  don't  say  I  am  engaged  to  him,"  Mrs.  Landry 
went  on,  "  but  I  could  be  if  I  wanted  to.  My  dear,  I  tell 
you  frankly,  any  woman  can  marry  any  man  she  wants, 
provided,  of  course,  that  she  has  youth  and  the  ordi- 
nary attractions.  But  she  has  to  be  in  earnest.  It  is  a 
handicap  to  be  distracted  by  somebody  else.  If  I  could 
only  get  Dick  out  of  my  head  — "  She  stopped  suddenly 
at  the  expression  on  Florence's  face.  "You  look  scorn- 
ful," she  said,  "but  you'll  be  wiser  when  you've  had 
more  experience.  Nothing  takes  down  your  pride  more 
than  to  find  out  just  how  much  of  a  fool  you  can  make 
of  yourself,  and  you  standing  to  one  side  watching  your- 
self do  it!  I'm  a  fool,  an  arrant  fool  and  the  worst  of  my 
folly  is  standing  here  talking  to  you.  I'll  say  no  more 
about  Christopher  Maxwell,  but  I'm  forewarned  and 
forearmed  and  I  defy  you  to  do  your  worst ! "  She  went 
off  laughing,  leaving  Florence  to  wonder  how  much  of 
her  talk  had  been  sheer  frivolity,  or  whether  there  was 
a  grain  of  real  feeling  in  anything  she  said. 

Florence  was  beginning  to  feel  very  much  at  home 
with  the  Ross  family.  They  had  accepted  her  as  one  of 
themselves,  surrounding  her  with  an  atmosphere  of 

[in] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

friendliness  and  admiration  that  was  very  sweet  to  the 
lonely  girl.  Bella  served  her  with  fulsome  flattery;  the 
two  little  Princes  frankly  adored  her  —  this  beautiful 
champion  who  softened  the  rule  of  the  tyrant  Lulu. 
The  black-browed  Emma,  fierce  of  eye  and  soft  of  heart, 
offered  Florence,  at  various  times,  every  trinket  in  her 
possession.  Mrs.  Ross  looked  upon  the  young  stranger 
as  her  own  discovery,  and  her  manner  towards  the  girl 
was  a  curious  blend  of  motherliness  and  patronage. 
Lulu  still  held  out  against  the  fascination  of  the  new 
boarder,  devoting  more  interest  to  her  movements  and 
clothes  than  to  her  person.  The  little  girl  launched 
avalanches  of  questions  about  Florence's  goings  and 
comings,  and  spent  long  hours  in  round-eyed  unblinking 
stares  at  her  ornaments,  from  the  gold  beads  about  her 
neck  to  the  paste  buckles  on  her  satin  slippers.  But  in 
spite  of  the  sharp  voice  and  domineering  ways  there 
was  something  to  admire  in  Lulu.  She  was  very  neat, 
could  sew  and  embroider,  braid  straw  for  hats,  make 
charming  little  baskets,  curious  shell  and  bead  work, 
and  was  as  industrious  as  a  bee. 

Florence's  affection  for  the  household  was  com- 
posed of  the  gratitude  of  a  lonely,  frightened  girl  who 
had  found  a  home,  and  the  keen  appreciation  of  some- 
thing too  good  to  last.  She  would  not  dwell  on  the  future 
or  the  thought  that  once  on  board  the  homeward-bound 
[112] 


THE  DANCE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 

steamer,  all  this  life  would  fade  into  a  memory  of 
the  past.  So  she  enjoyed  the  present  to  the  full,  and  re- 
turned their  kindness  with  a  passionate  friendship  for 
every  member  of  the  family.  She  took  extraordinary 
pains  to  learn  Bella's  patois,  listening  with  sympathy 
to  the  girl's  long  rambling  description  of  far-off  Ma- 
deira, where  oxen  drew  the  sleds  over  the  stony  streets, 
understanding  not  so  much  the  words,  as  the  woman's 
homesickness  for  the  land  she  would  never  see  again. 

As  for  the  two  Princes,  their  gentle  manners,  their 
lively  talk,  the  uncomplaining  courage  with  which  they 
endured  a  harassing  existence,  and  their  instinctive 
appeal  to  her  as  to  one  who  could  shield  them,  touched 
Florence  deeply.  Their  discreet  little  knock  on  the 
veranda  door  was  never  unwelcome,  and  her  two  friends 
were  always  greeted  with  a  smile. 

The  family  had  spent  a  pleasantly  excited  morning 
preparing  for  the  dance.  Emma  arranged  natural  flow- 
ers with  an  art  and  understanding  peculiarly  Hawaiian. 
She  had  a  large  black  hat,  which  she  trimmed  anew 
every  time  she  wore  it  with  fresh  flowers  from  the  garden, 
and  she  worked  busily  wiring  pomegranate  blossoms, 
combining  them  with  sprays  of  red  leaves  to  decorate 
it  for  the  afternoon.  Florence  remodelled  a  bonnet  for 
Mrs.  Ross,  composed  of  a  lace  handkerchief,  some 
chiffon  and  silvery  ribbons  to  match  her  grey  silk  holaku. 
[113] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Lulu  acted  as  general  lady's  maid  running  from 
room  to  room,  fastening  hooks  and  eyes,  tying  rib- 
bons, arranging  the  fall  of  lace  or  sash  deftly,  and 
with  innate  good  taste.  She  was  in  her  element  and 
flew  about  with  an  air  of  busy  importance.  The 
Princes  improved  the  shining  hours  by  turning  somer- 
saults on  the  lawn. 

As  Florence  came  out  on  the  veranda,  pulling  on  her 
gloves,  Emma  frowned  at  her  under  her  fierce  brows  and 
then  cried  in  her  high  mild  voice:  "  Oh,  isn't  she  lovely! 
All  in  white  like  a  bride!" 

"Oh!"  cried  Florence,  flushing  hotly,  "am  I,  Mrs. 
Ross !  I  never  thought  of  that.  Almost  all  my  dresses  are 
white!" 

"  Don't  worry,  child,"  said  Mrs.  Ross,  "  all  the  girls 
wear  white.  But,  perhaps,  under  the  circumstances,  you 
might  put  on  a  bit  of  colour.  " 

"  I'll  get  your  yellow  sash,"  cried  Lulu  officiously. 

" You  can  wear  my  yellow  feather  lei"  said  Emma, 
which  Florence  accepted  graciously.  The  object  the 
half-white  girl  tied  so  carefully  round  Florence's  neck 
was  composed  of  tiny  orange-coloured  feathers. 

"  Only  chiefs  could  wear  those  in  the  old  days,"  said 

Mrs.  Ross.  "  That  feather  cloak  under  the  glass  case  in 

my  parlour  and  this  lei  belonged  to  my  ancestors,  and 

descended  directly  from  the  Kamehamehas.  Just  you 

[114] 


THE  DANCE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 

remember  that,  Emma,  if  those  missionary  girls  turn  up 
their  noses  at  you.  They  have  all  the  land  and  all  the 
money,  but  they  haven't  the  blood.  They  haven't  any. 
I  believe  it's  only  chalk  and  water  that  runs  in  their 
veins,  the  poor  white-eyed  things,  and  I'll  tell  'em  so, 
too,  if  they  snub  my  niece." 

The  tears  rose  to  Emma's  eyes  as  they  always  did 
when  her  aunt  started  the  well-worn  theme.  She  would 
never  have  seen  any  slights,  had  not  Mrs.  Ross  pointed 
them  out  to  her.  If  the  missionary  ladies  (a  term  her 
aunt  applied  to  the  rich  and  fashionable  set  in 
Honolulu  society)  were  kind  to  her  niece,  Mrs.  Ross 
resented  it  as  patronage,  and  if  they  passed  Emma  by 
with  only  a  smile,  she  took  bitter  offence,  and  vented 
her  injured  feelings  upon  the  defenceless  daughter  of 
the  Kamehamehas. 

"For  Heaven's  sake,"  she  went  on  complacently, 
buttoning  her  gloves  (she  showed  the  mark  "  No.  5  "  to 
Florence,  for  she  was  vain  of  her  tiny  hands).  "For 
Heaven's  sake,  have  a  little  backbone,  Emma.  Don't 
you  let  those  people  ride  over  you.  Show  some 
spirit." 

"But  what  can  I  do,  Aunt  Vally?"  asked  Emma. 
Mrs.  Ross's  name  was  Valeria.  "  I  never  know  when 
they  are  rude,  and  even  if  I  did,  I  couldn't  slap  them,  or 
make  faces  at  them,  could  I  ?  " 
[115] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Here's  the  express ! "  cried  Vida  and  Mana,  racing 
in  from  the  garden. 

"  Harry  will  meet  us  at  the  wharf,"  said  Emma  with 
a  self-conscious  glance. 

The  two  Princes  ran  to  the  carriage,  holding  their 
little  brown  hands  out  over  the  wheels,  that  the  ladies' 
dresses  might  not  be  soiled.  Danny  Quinn,  who  was 
driving,  tucked  the  linen  lap-robe  about  Emma  very 
carefully  as  she  took  her  place  beside  him,  giving  the 
back  seat  to  Mrs.  Ross  and  Florence. 

"It's  a  fine  day  we're  having  for  the  party,"  said 
Mr.  Quinn  genially  as  they  started  off,  Bella  and  Lulu 
waving  good-bye  from  the  veranda. 

"You  must  introduce  me  to  Harry  to-day,"  said 
Florence.  She  had  often  heard  the  name  of  Harry  the 
half-white  and  Lulu  had  volunteered  the  information 
that  he  was  "  paying  attention  "  to  Emma,  but  Florence 
had  only  caught  glimpses  of  his  figure  in  dark  corners 
of  the  veranda. 

"I  hope  he'll  wear  his  uniform  and  all  his  orders," 
said  Emma.  "  He  has  a  whole  string  of  them.  He  wears 
the  big  ones  for  full  dress,  and  then  for  an  afternoon 
party  like  this,  he  has  miniature  ones  all  hung  on  a  gold 
bar  like  a  lot  of  pendants.  It's  awfully  pretty." 

"  Are  they  foreign  orders  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"Yes,  he  got  them  when  he  went  around  the  world 
[116] 


THE  DANCE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 

with  the  King's  embassy.  They  visited  all  the  courts  of 
Europe  and  Asia.  He  had  a  lovely  time." 

"The  King  of  Siam  was  very  kind  to  Harry,"  said 
Mrs.  Ross.  "  He  must  have  been  a  nice  man.  The  Tzar 
of  Russia,  too,  showed  such  an  interest  in  Hawaii  and 
asked  a  lot  of  questions." 

"  He  liked  the  Queens  best,"  said  Emma,  turning  in 
the  front  seat.  "He  said  the  Queen  of  Italy  was  the 
nicest  one  of  all.  He  had  to  talk  French  to  the  Queen  of 
Servia,  but  almost  all  the  rest  of  them  spoke  English." 

"What  is  his  position,"  asked  Florence,  much  in- 
terested, "  that  he  wears  a  uniform  ?  " 

"He's  in  the  diplomatic  service,"  said  Emma,  "but 
at  home  he's  a  clerk  in  the  post-office." 

They  drove  down  the  wide  esplanade  to  the  water 
front,  and  stopped  on  the  end  of  the  wharf  where 
a  number  of  well  dressed  people  were  waiting  for 
the  men-of-war  boats.  There  were  no  bystanders  or 
lookers-on;  it  was  the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  and  the 
going  and  coming  of  guests  to  the  war  ships  had  long 
ceased  to  interest  the  public.  Mrs.  Ross  introduced 
Florence  right  and  left,  whispering  explanatory  asides. 
There  was  stout,  motherly-looking  Mrs.  Tyler,  with  her 
black-eyed  daughters  and  nieces  (missionaries);  Mrs. 
Cawson-Ealing,  wife  of  the  British  Commissioner,  with 
the  tall,  pale  Misses  Cawson-Ealing  (English  set);  two 
[117] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

noble-looking  young  women  with  large  eyes  and  coal- 
black  hair,  evidently  half-whites  (the  beautiful  Coney 
girls) ;  and  numbers  of  young  men.  They  all  greeted  the 
new  arrivals  very  graciously,  but  Florence  could  see 
that  Mrs.  Ross  kept  a  wary  eye  out  for  insults  and  was 
unusually  haughty  in  her  manner. 

Other  carriages  kept  driving  up  every  minute.  Harry, 
the  half- white,  came  with  Count  Tatsu.  Harry  was  a  slim 
young  man,  wearing  the  gold  stripe  and  embroidered 
fern-leaves  of  the  Hawaiian  diplomatic  corps,  but  other- 
wise so  like  any  number  of  young  Americans  of  his  age, 
that  Florence  did  not  detect  the  least  sign  of  native 
blood  until  he  spoke;  his  deep,  soft  voice  was  dis- 
tinctly Hawaiian.  Count  Tatsu  sweltered  in  a  frock 
coat  and  silk  hat  and  carried  a  small  gold-headed  cane. 
Almost  all  the  other  men  were  in  white  duck  or  very 
light  tweed  and  straw  hats. 

Two  loads  had  been  taken  off  before  it  came  to  Flor- 
ence's turn  to  step  into  the  boat,  which  started  off 
crowded,  with  long  sweeps  of  the  oars,  the  stars  and 
stripes  floating  to  the  breeze,  the  sailors  pulling  in  uni- 
son and  all  glowing  with  suppressed  excitement.  Flor- 
ence sat  facing  the  oarsmen  and  felt  embarrassed  under 
the  gaze  of  so  many  eyes,  sitting  so  close  to  men  whom 
everybody  ignored.  Harry  whispered  to  her  that  sailors 
take  in  every  detail  of  ladies'  dresses,  looks  and  manners, 

[118] 


THE  DANCE  ON  THE  MOHAWK 

to  be  gossiped  about  and  discussed  minutely  during 
their  long  voyages. 

The  sunlight  on  the  water  was  blinding.  Honolulu, 
with  its  background  of  blue  mountains,  topped  with 
clouds,  seemed  to  waver  and  scintillate  in  the  heat.  To 
seaward,  several  ships  were  lying  at  anchor,  flying  flags 
of  various  nations.  One  was  dressed  out  in  bunting 
and  evergreens,  with  awnings  spread  and  the  sound  of 
music  on  board. 

At  the  foot  of  the  accommodation  ladder  an  officer 
in  uniform  stood  to  receive  the  new-comers.  Florence's 
gloves  were  no  whiter  than  the  rope  that  steadied 
her  hand.  As  they  came  over  the  starboard  gangway 
and  down  upon  the  deep  deck  of  the  old-fashioned 
man-of-war,  they  were  greeted  by  a  semicircle  of  offi- 
cers, among  whom  Florence  was  glad  to  recognize 
Mr.  Todd.  To  the  right,  evidently  toeing  a  chalked  line, 
was  a  solid  mass  of  crisp,  white  sailors,  rising  tier  above 
tier  as  they  stood  on  coils  of  ropes  and  raised  hatches, 
until  some  seemed  to  hang  in  the  air  tangled  in  the  rig- 
ging. Several  of  them  wore  flowers  tucked  behind  their 
ears  or  fastened  to  the  band  of  their  sailor  caps. 


[119] 


CHAPTER  TEN 
Max  to  the  Rescue 

NUMBERS  of  guests  had  already  arrived  and 
officers  of  the  Mohawk  went  about  with  hos- 
pitable intent,  welcoming  friends  and  intro- 
ducing strangers. 

The  bulwarks  of  the  man-of-war  were  high;  the  em- 
brasures of  the  deep  portholes  were  fitted  in  with 
benches,  and  draped  in  .front  by  flags  of  all  nations. 
Banks  of  flowers  covered  the  hatchways,  awnings 
shaded  the  quarter-decks,  the  boards  were  waxed  for 
dancing  and  every  bit  of  brasswork  glittered  with  polish. 
Hammy  led  Florence  to  the  captain's  cabin  which 
had  been  turned  over  to  the  ladies  for  a  dressing-room. 
"This  man-of-war,"  he  said,  "has  engaged  in  battle 
more  than  once  during  the  war  of  rebellion  and  has  a 
commendable  record,  but  all  the  same,  if  the  truth 
must  be  told,  I  believe  she  has  seen  more  dancing  than 
fighting." 

There  was  a  crowd  of  women  in  the  cabin,  some  ar- 
[120] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

ranging  their  hair  at  the  mirror,  others  studying  the 
photographs  of  the  captain's  wife  and  children  that 
ornamented  the  wall;  a  few  stood  at  the  port-holes, 
commenting  on  the  guests  who  were  arriving  in  the 
ship's  boats. 

"  Hello ! "  said  a  voice  beside  her,  and  turning,  Flor- 
ence recognized  the  Bonner  girls,  in  blue  sailor  suits  and 
straw  hats,  their  hair  worn  in  long  braids  down  their 
backs,  and  each  carrying  a  fan  tied  to  the  belt  by  a  man- 
o'-war  ribbon. 

"Ever  been  at  a  naval  dance  before?"  asked  Polly 
Bonner. 

"  No,"  Florence  answered. 

"  Then  let  me  give  you  a  word  of  advice  " —  and  Betty 
supplemented  — "  Refuse  to  look  at  guns  or  photo- 
graphs of  South  American  beauties ! " 

"But  why?" 

" They'll  bore  you  stiff! "  said  Polly. 

Mrs.  Landry  came  sailing  in  on  the  arm  of  the  Cap- 
tain who  bowed  low  at  the  door.  She  wore  one  of  her 
new  importations,  an  exquisitely  fitting  ecru  lace  with 
touches  of  green  against  her  bright  yellow  hair.  She 
attracted  general  attention;  the  girls  at  the  port-holes 
drew  their  heads  in  to  look  at  her  and  study  her  new 
gown;  the  crowd  about  the  mirror  made  way  as  she 
stood,  imperiously  handsome,  pressing  her  fingers  down- 
[121] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

wards  on  her  belt,  and  giving  that  little  shake  of  the  fig- 
ure that  betrays  tight  lacing. 

"  Are  you  talking  about  guns  ? "  she  said  to  the  com- 
pany at  large,  "  I  hate  guns,  and  I  hate  to  have  them 
explained  to  me.  The  only  useful  thing  about  them  is 
that  they're  nice  and  shiny  and  you  can  use  them  for  a 
mirror  if  your  hat  isn't  on  straight." 

"Those  are  the  best  kind,"  said  Polly  Bonner.  "I've 
no  objection  to  them,  but  some  of  these  nasty  new  quick- 
firing  things  the  men  are  so  proud  of  are  all  cut  up  into 
little  trimmings." 

"Look  at  that  German  ship,"  said  Mrs.  Landry, 
making  way  for  some  new-comers,  but  still  the  centre 
of  attraction.  "The  port-holes  are  no  bigger  than  a 
monocle,  and  the  deck  is  ridged  all  over  with  pivots  to 
turn  the  guns  on,  which  spoils  it  absolutely  for  dancing." 

"  They  say  the  new  American  ships  are  even  worse," 
said  one  of  the  beautiful  Coney  girls  who  stood,  with  her 
sister,  by  the  door. 

**  There's  no  doubt  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Landry, 
"the  navy  is  deteriorating." 

Mrs.  Ross  and  Emma  came  in  and  there  were  more 
introductions. 

"  I  find  it  so  hard  to  keep  my  hair  in  curl  here,"  said 
a  short  plump  girl  to  Florence.  She  was  on  a  visit  from 
Boston.  Her  round  face  was  scarlet  with  the  heat,  and 
[122] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

speckled  over  with  mosquito  bites.  "  My  hair  hangs  in 
strings." 

One  of  the  Tyler  nieces  unpinned  her  sailor  hat  and 
disclosed  a  row  of  curl  papers.  "  Why  don't  you  try  my 
plan  ? "  she  asked. 

"Here  come  the  Ah  Sues's!"  cried  some  one. 

"The  name  sounds  Chinese,"  said  Florence. 

"  It  is,"  said  Mrs.  Landry,  "  Papa  Ah  Sue  is  a  Chinese 
Mandarin  and  his  wife  is  a  Hawaiian  half -white." 

"  And  his  children  are  brought  up  like  Americans ! " 
said  Polly  Bonner.  "  Think  of  it  —  sixteen  girls  and 
one  boy." 

"  And  they're  just  as  pretty  as  a  string  of  sea-shells," 
said  Mrs.  Ross. "  That  is,  the  girls  are.  Billy  Ah  Sue  is 
a  nice  boy,  too." 

"  He's  a  Yale  graduate,"  said  Betty  Bonner.  "  He's 
great  fun.  Sings  college  songs,  and  plays  the  banjo,  and 
wears  his  hair  cut  short  —  he's  just  like  an  American 
tinted  yellow." 

"Only  he  speaks  Chinese,"  said  Mrs.  Landry. 
"  Whenever  I  hear  him  do  it  I  always  think  he  is  mak- 
ing those  ridiculous  high-low  sounds  for  a  joke,  and 
laugh  at  him." 

"Here  comes  a  boat-load  from  the  Stupendous" 
cried  a  Sister  Anne  at  the  gun-hole. 

"  Do  you  see  any  midshipmen  ?  "  asked  Polly  Bonner. 
[123] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"They  are  my  delight;  I  love  the  little  dears  with  their 
dirks  and  buttons ! " 

"  If  you  want  to  know  what  I  think,"  said  Mrs.  Lan- 
dry,  "I  tell  you  we'd  have  better  partners,  and  more 
real  appreciation,  if  we  were  the  guests  of  the  sailors, 
instead  of  the  officers.  They  all  dance  like  angels." 

"Did  you  see  that  blue- jacket  in  the  rigging  with  a 
rose  in  his  cap  ?  "  said  Betty  Bonner.  "  I  choose  him ! " 

"  Come  outside,"  said  Mrs.  Landry  leading  the  way, 
"  it  is  stifling  in  here." 

Mr.  Todd,  who  looked  remarkably  well  in  his  blue 
uniform  and  brass  buttons,  was  waiting  with  a  group  of 
brother  officers  to  meet  the  ladies  as  they  came  out  on 
deck.  He  presented  the  Captain  and  some  of  his  friends 
to  Florence  with  much  ceremony. 

"  Don't  give  all  your  dances  away,"  whispered  Mrs. 
Landry,  good-naturedly,  in  passing. 

"Why  not?" 

"Because,  you  silly,  the  men  you  like  best  always 
come  last.  Put  down  a  lot  of  *  John  Does '  for  '  Woolly 
Horses!'" 

Lieutenant  Todd  and  his  partner  walked  about  the 
deck  stopping  every  minute  to  speak  to  friends  or  join 
in  introductions.  An  almost  continuous  stream  of  people 
were  coming  over  the  side;  bevies  of  girls  with  smiling 
excited  faces,  matrons,  looking  very  warm  and  bland; 
[124] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

civilians  standing  aimlessly  about  trying  to  appear  at 
ease,  groups  of  officers  from  the  other  ships;  haughty 
Germans,  who  clicked  their  heels  and  squared  their 
shoulders  in  recognition  of  an  introduction;  lively 
Russians,  talkative  and  noisy,  with  effusively  polite 
manners;  Englishmen  from  the  Stupendous,  very  pink 
and  cordial. 

"There's  Christopher  Maxwell;  he  has  doubtless 
been  lunching  on  the  British  ship." 

Florence  had  seen  him  before  Hammy  spoke;  had 
noted  his  impressive  reception  by  the  semicircle  of 
Mohawks  and  the  quick  glance  he  cast  about  the  deck 
as  though  in  search  of  some  one.  Her  heart  beat  quickly, 
but  she  turned  away  and  looked  over  the  water. 

"There  goes  a  party  from  the  Catholic  Convent," 
said  Hammy.  A  whale-boat,  rowed  by  native  girls, 
was  passing  quite  near.  Several  nuns  in  their  white 
head-dresses  sat  in  the  stern.  Florence  looked  after  them 
with  interest. 

"  They  are  approaching  the  Pawtucket.  How  strangely 
incongruous  for  women  of  peace  to  board  a  man-of- 
war!" 

As  they  turned  again  to  the  deck  Mrs.  Landry,  in 
her  ecru  dress,  with  the  touch  of  green  in  her  hair,  was 
just  disappearing  into  the  wardroom,  followed  by 
Christopher  Maxwell. 

[125] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Florence  felt  a  strange  sensation  of  disappointment, 
but  quickly  stifling  it  she  turned  to  Hammy  and  asked : 

"  Where  are  the  cannons,  Lieutenant  Todd  ?  " 

The  sudden  glow  on  Hammy's  face,  the  light  in  his 
eyes,  recalled  to  Florence,  too  late,  the  warning  she  had 
received  from  the  women  in  the  dressing-room. 

"The  guns  have  been  shifted  forward  and  stowed 
in  the  gangway,"  he  said,  "and  some  have  been  used 
most  advantageously  as  screens.  But  perhaps  you 
would  be  interested  to  see  our  new,  automatic,  water- 
cooled,  rapid-fire  Gatling  ?  " 

She  made  the  best  of  her  blunder  by  saying,  agreeably 
mendacious :  "  I'd  be  delighted." 

The  young  lieutenant  excitedly  led  her  to  the  poop, 
where  a  chubby  brass  gun  was  displayed  in  all  its  glory 
by  the  taffrail.  He  explained,  elaborately  and  techni- 
cally, with  an  expression  of  intense  seriousness:  "The 
magazine  sits  on  here  and  it  feeds  down  into  this  slot. 
Then  you  turn  the  crank.  If  you'll  step  in  front  you'll 
see  the  way  the  chambers  revolve.  The  flange  of  the 
cartridge  engages  in  this  groove  of  the  magazine  slide. 
One  man  feeds  it,  while  another  fires  it,  thus  only  two 
do  the  work  of  many,  for  it  fires  up  to  250  shots  a  min- 
ute. The  water-chamber  keeps  it  cool  in  spite  of  the 
rapid  firing.  You  train  the  gun  by  raising  and  lowering 
the  muzzle; you  see,  you  make  this  sight  correspond  with 
[126] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

that  notch.  If  you  were  firing  into  a  small  boat  at  close 
range  — " 

Florence  couldn't  understand  a  word,  but  smiled 
sweetly,  and  studied  her  own  reflection  in  the  shining 
brass  surface  which  distorted  her  face  grotesquely,  and 
thought  rather  poorly  of  the  chubby  gun  as  a  mirror. 

"See!"  she  said,  looking  out  over  the  water,  "here 
comes  a  splendid  boat  with  the  Hawaiian  flag  flying ! " 

"It  is  the  King,"  said  Hammy,  reluctantly  leaving 
his  gun.  "  Prepare  yourself  for  a  noise." 

Suddenly  there  was  a  loud  report  that  shook  the 
ship. 

"Oh,  what  is  it!"  cried  Florence.  The  banging  con- 
tinued. 

"The  royal  salute,"  said  Hammy.  "Twenty-one 
guns.  His  Majesty  is  coming  on  board." 

Everybody  rose  to  their  feet  and  formed  a  lane, 
Hammy  pushing  Florence  to  the  front  as  they  all  craned 
forward.  The  band,  almost  drowned  by  the  accompani- 
ment of  thundering  guns,  played  Hawaii  Ponoi.  Kal- 
akaua,  in  a  well-fitting  uniform  of  white  cloth  orna- 
mented with  gold,  and  carrying  a  brass  helmet  in  the 
crook  of  his  arm,  came  over  the  gangway  where  he  was 
greeted  by  the  Captain  and  officers  of  the  Mohawk.  He 
walked  slowly  up  the  deck,  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  and 
a  tall,  dark  Hawaiian  in  attendance. 
[127] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

The  ladies  all  curtsied  deeply,  and  the  men  bowed 
low  as  the  King  passed  on  his  way  to  the  quarter-deck, 
where  a  throne  had  been  arranged  for  him  under  a 
canopy,  draped  with  American  and  Hawaiian  flags. 

"  It  is  like  a  scene  in  a  theatre,"  whispered  Florence 
to  Hammy. 

"His  Majesty  has  a  box  in  the  centre  of  the  dress 
circle!" 

The  guns  had  ceased  firing,  the  music  changed  into 
the  "  Likelike  Waltz  "  and  the  dance  began. 

Florence,  starting  off  with  Hammy,  was  interrupted 
at  the  top  of  the  companion-way  by  Mrs.  Ross  and 
Emma,  who  carried  her  off  to  be  presented  to  the  King. 
She  followed  somewhat  reluctantly,  for  His  Majesty 
occupied  a  conspicuous  place,  and  besides  she  was  con- 
scious that  among  the  gentlemen  behind  his  chair  was 
Captain  Leigh-Garrett. 

Mrs.  Ross  and  Emma  bowed  low  and  kissed  the 
King's  hand.  When  Florence  was  presented,  in  some 
embarrassment,  His  Majesty  put  her  at  her  ease  by 
shaking  hands  democratically. 

Kalakaua  was  an  imposing  personage;  a  tall,  dark 
man,  with  closely  curling  black  hair.  He  was  blandly 
courteous,  self-possessed,  and  in  speech,  appearance  and 
manner,  royal. 

He  looked  at  the  young  girl  with  evident  interest.  He 
[128] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

had  heard  every  detail  of  her  story,  and  found  the  hero- 
ine even  more  attractive  than  she  had  been  described. 

"  We  hope  your  stay  in  Honolulu  may  be  a  pleasant 
one,"  he  said.  "We  should  like  you  to  carry  away  as 
agreeable  an  impression  of  our  country  as  we  shall 
always  cherish  of  yours." 

"Thank  you,  Your  Majesty."  She  was  too  shy  to  say 
more,  but  quickly  felt  the  genuine  ring  of  kindliness  in 
the  King's  voice,  and  instantly  liked  him.  The  words 
of  respect  came  naturally  to  her  lips  as  she  bowed  and 
stepped  back,  leaving  him  to  open  a  conversation  in 
Hawaiian  with  Mrs.  Ross  and  Emma. 

"  Have  you  kept  a  dance  for  me  ?  "  said  a  voice  be- 
hind her.  She  turned  to  face  Captain  Leigh-Garrett. 

Florence  gave  him  a  "John  Doe." 

"Is  that  all  I'm  to  get?"  he  said  discontentedly,  as 
he  scribbled  her  name  on  his  empty  card. 

"I'll  see  how  you  can  dance,"  she  said,  and  then 
added :  "  You  look  very  well ! " 

"Don't  I?"  said  Dick  complacently,  thrusting  a 
thumb  into  his  gold  belt,  and  squaring  his  shoulders  to 
show  off  the  epaulettes. 

"I  wasn't  referring  to  your  physical  attractions," 
said  Florence,  laughing.  "  I  meant  I  was  afraid  you 
might  have  suffered  some  bad  effects  from  the  accident." 

"  No,  I'm  all  right  now.  I  felt  seedy  for  a  day  or  two, 
[129] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

but  I  think  it  was  that  smelly  stuff  the  doctor  gave 
me." 

"  This  is  our  dance,"  interrupted  Hammy  meekly. 

"But  here,  wait,"  cried  Dick.  "Don't  desert  me  — 
I'm  in  attendance  on  the  King,  and  I  have  to  stay  here 
for  half  an  hour  more,  anyway.  Don't  go!"  But 
Florence  went  off  with  Hammy,  leaving  the  Captain 
still  protesting. 

Following  the  waltz  with  Lieutenant  Todd  were  sev- 
eral more  round  dances  with  the  Mohawks  and  Paw- 
tuckets.  The  deck  was  pretty  crowded,  and  Florence 
thought  of  sitting  out  the  next  number,  when 
Christopher  Maxwell  asked  her  for  a  waltz.  It  hap- 
pened, fortunately,  to  be  a  "John  Doe,"  and  she 
felt  grateful  to  the  widow  for  her  timely  hint. 

As  he  held  her  for  a  moment  waiting  to  catch 
the  time,  she  looked  up  at  him  with  a  shy,  quick  glance 
of  approval.  He  had  met  her  with  enthusiasm,  and  the 
glow  of  it  was  on  his  cheek.  His  grey  eyes  sparkled  un- 
der their  black  brows;  such  strange  eyes,  matching  in 
colour  the  thick,  crisp  hair,  with  lashes  so  black  they 
looked  pencilled.  The  shoulder  Florence  touched  so 
lightly  felt  like  iron  under  her  hand ;  they  glided  about 
the  deck  to  the  exquisite  music  of  the  ship's  band  with 
as  much  ease  as  though  they  two  were  the  only  couple 
on  the  floor;  avoiding  clumsy  dancers,  slipping  away 
[130] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

from  energetic  Germans  and  spinning  Russians,  keep- 
ing perfect  time,  threading  their  way  between  bumping 
couples,  not  pausing  to  rest  or  breathe  till  the  last  notes 
had  died  away. 

Max  found  a  secluded  seat  just  outside  the  ward- 
room, where  he  and  his  partner  sat  on  an  ensign's  box, 
while  the  negro  steward  served  them  with  iced  punch. 
Florence's  face  was  flushed,  little  tendrils  of  hair  clung 
in  rings  to  her  forehead,  and  her  eyes  were  bright  with 
the  exercise  and  excitement. 

"I  tell  you  what,"  said  Max,  waving  a  Japanese 
fan  vigorously,  "it  takes  skill  to  dodge  Russians.  I 
thought  we  were  lost  when  that  automaton  rushed  down 
on  us." 

"  He  went  round  and  round  like  a  dancing  Dervish," 
said  Florence.  "  I  should  think  he'd  have  a  fit." 

"Perhaps  he  was  having  one,  and  that's  what  ailed 
him." 

"The  King  was  awfully  nice,"  said  Florence.  "I 
thought  it  would  be  so  difficult  to  say  'Your  Majesty;' 
but  it  came  quite  naturally.  I  couldn't  have  said  any- 
thing else.  " 

"  He  is  dignified,  and  yet  he  has  a  sense  of  humour. 

After  all,  this  is  a  toy  kingdom,  and  if  Kalakaua  put 

on  the  airs  of  a  Tzar  he'd  be  ridiculous,  but  he  takes 

you  into  his  confidence,  as  it  were,  and  you  love  him. 

[131] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

By  the  way,  he  said  a  pretty  thing  about  you  —  he 
said  you  looked  like  a  spring  rose  and  was  very  much 
interested  in  you,  suggesting  to  me  that  we  get  up  a 
surf-riding  party  to  show  you  something  of  the  old 
Hawaiian  sport.  You  can  swim,  can't  you  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes." 

"  Then  you'd  love  surf-riding;  but  even  if  you  couldn't 
there's  no  danger  with  natives  around,  they're  so  much 
at  home  in  the  water.  He'll  give  it  at  his  Beach  House, 
at  Waikiki,  some  moonlight  night.  He  was  talking  it 
over  with  Mrs.  Ross  when  I  came  up." 

"Isn't  he  good!"  said  Florence.  "He  sent  me  an  in- 
vitation to  the  Palace  Ball,  too,  before  I  met  him." 

"You  must  go  to  that.  There  is  another  English 
ship  expected  in,  and  then  the  Adams  ought  to  come  in 
any  minute  now,  so  you'll  have  plenty  of  partners." 

"Oh,  that's  the  ship  Mrs.  Worthing's  husband  is 
on.  I  came  down  in  the  steamer  with  her,  and  she  was 
so  anxious  because  it  hadn't  arrived." 

"I  know,"  said  Max.  "She  has  been  very  ill  at 
the  hotel,  poor  thing.  But  the  ships  are  often  delayed 
or  put  in  somewhere  else,  or  turn  back  for  repairs,  and 
not  having  any  cable  here  we  get  no  news.  I'm  sorry 
for  Mrs.  Worthing.  The  more  I  see  of  sailors'  lives, 
the  more  I  think  navy  men  have  no  right  to  marry." 

"I  don't  think  men  ought  to  marry,  anyway,"  said 
[182] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

Florence  decidedly,  and  then  laughed  at  herself.  "I 
mean  my  views  on  matrimony  are  rather  tangled.  I  want 
all  women  to  marry  and  all  men  to  remain  bachelors ! " 

Max  laughed  and  drew  a  little  closer. 

"  Explain,"  he  said. 

"It  isn't  quite  so  silly  as  it  sounds,"  she  went  on. 
"You  know  married  women  are  much  nicer  than  girls. 
You  needn't  smile,  they  are.  More  at  their  ease,  more 
charming  and  entertaining.  A  girl  is  always  at  a  dis- 
advantage. If  she  is  quiet  and  shy,  she  is  thought  a  fool, 
and  if  she  is  pleasant  and  fascinating,  men  think  she 
is  *  setting  her  cap,'  as  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  says. 
But  the  married  woman  has  an  assured  position  and 
can  afford  to  be  natural." 

"  And  doesn't  that  hold  good  with  men  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed.  A  bachelor  is  far  nicer  than  a  married 
man,  and  the  longer  he  remains  a  bachelor,"  with 
pointed  flattery,  "  the  nicer  he  becomes.  But  a  married 
man  is  fettered  by  matrimony.  He  is  conscious  of  being 
a  detriment.  Did  you  ever  see  a  dog  decorated  with  a 
paper  collar  ?  Well,  some  look  very  proud  and  pleased, 
and  sit  up  in  the  most  dignified  manner,  while  others 
are  shamefaced  and  mortified,  and  put  on  uncon- 
scious airs,  hoping  you  won't  notice  it,  but  not  one  of 
them  is  the  same  jolly,  lively,  unaffected  dog  he  was 
without  his  collar." 

[133] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"And  matrimony  is  the  paper  collar,  I  suppose?" 
said  Max. 

"Sometimes  it  is  a  steel  one." 

"Don't  you  think  that  under  very  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances it  might  be  a  garland  of  roses  ?  " 

"I  —  I  —  oh,  here  comes  my  partner,"  said  Flor- 
ence, jumping  up,  somewhat  confused  at  the  turn  of 
the  conversation,  adding  naively,  "Heavens!  I  forgot 
all  about  him ! " 

It  was  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  who  came  up  to 
claim  Florence. 

"I  have  been  looking  for  you  everywhere,"  he  said 
reproachfully,  as  he  offered  his  arm.  "Our  dance  is 
nearly  over." 

The  two  men  nodded  coldly  to  each  other,  and  as 
Florence  glanced  over  her  shoulder  to  smile  farewell  at 
Maxwell,  she  was  surprised  to  see  that  he  looked  very 
serious,  almost  stern. 

"  I  told  you  Max  had  no  use  for  Dicky,"  said  Cap- 
tain Leigh-Garrett  as  they  joined  the  throng  on  deck. 
"  I  might  have  known  where  you  were,  but  I  warn  you, 
look  out  for  Sally!" 

The  dance  was  a  glide  polka,   which  is  difficult 

on  a  crowded  floor,  and  Dick  fell  out  of  step  and  out  of 

time,  though  he  swaggered  with  an  air  of  consummate 

ease.    They    bumped    into    people,  knocked   elbows, 

[134] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

and  finally  caromed  against  a  steward  carrying  glasses, 
with  disastrous  results. 

"You  can  drive,  Captain  Leigh- Garrett,"  said  Flor- 
ence, "but  you  cannot  dance.  Let's  sit  out  the  rest  of 
this  number  and  talk." 

"  I'd  much  rather  talk  than  dance,  any  day,  especially 
with  you." 

"Does  that  mean  that  I  dance  so  badly,  or  talk  so 
well  ?" 

"  I  mean  —  oh,  well,  you  know  what  I  mean.  Really, 
though,  I  didn't  sleep  a  wink  last  night  thinking  what 
I  was  going  to  say  to  you  to-day,  and  you  won't  give  me 
a  minute." 

"  I'll  give  you  till  the  end  of  this  dance,"  she  said, 
sweeping  aside  her  white  draperies  and  making  room 
for  the  Captain  beside  her  on  the  narrow  bench  against 
the  bulwarks. 

"  Why  not  come  to  a  port-hole  —  see  how  they've 
screened  this  one  in  with  guns  and  flags,  like  a  cosey 
corner ! " 

"  We're  just  as  well  off  here." 

"  But  I  want  to  talk  to  you, " 

"Well,  talk!"  she  said  aggravatingly.  "You  can  say 
a  tremendous  lot  if  you  talk  fast  enough."  The  Cap- 
tain looked  down,  pulling  the  end  of  his  moustache. 
Forence  had  almost  put  him  out  of  countenance. 
[135] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  There's  the  deuce  of  a  row  going  on  over  there," 
he  said,  nodding  his  head  towards  the  other  side  of  the 
ship. 

"What  is  it?" 

"Some  ass  of  a  fellow  has  had  too  much  to  drink. 
Dancing  the  can-can  or  something.  Making  a  fool  of 
himself." 

She  was  but  slightly  interested.  She  remembered 
Max's  face  as  she  saw  it  last,  and  there  was  something 
disapproving  in  his  glance,  an  anxiety  behind  the  stern- 
ness that  made  her  uneasy. 

"Mrs.  Ross  is  signalling  to  me,"  she  said  suddenly, 
jumping  up.  "  Let's  go  over  to  her  — " 

"No,  no,"  cried  Dick,  but  Florence  had  walked  off 
quickly,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  follow. 

The  young  girl  threaded  her  way  through  the  crowd, 
coming  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  hatchway;  the  people 
before  her  parted,  and  she  beheld  the  figure  of  a  slender 
young  man  dancing  with  nimble  steps.  A  group  of  half- 
white  girls  were  in  paroxysms  of  laughter  at  his  antics. 
Some  of  the  officers  looked  slightly  nervous;  at  that 
moment  the  dancer  turned,  and  Florence  gave  a  gasp 
of  horror.  It  was  Walter  Sprague.  Not  the  young  man 
of  the  tearful  eye  and  doleful  countenance,  whom  she 
had  seen  last  weeping  on  his  knees,  but  a  gay,  dfoonnaire 
creature,  skipping  about  to  the  lively  music  as  though 
[136] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

he  had  not  a  care  in  the  world.  He  was  using  his  hat  as 
a  tambourine,  and  smirked  and  bowed  in  imitation  of 
a  Spanish  dancer,  evidently  in  the  highest  spirits,  and 
evidently  also,  from  his  flushed  countenance  and  fool- 
ish smile,  under  the  influence  of  punch. 

Florence  stumbled  forward  and  almost  fell  into  a 
draped  port-hole  that  was  fortunately  empty,  and  cow- 
ered in  the  recess,  half  hidden  by  the  flags  and  bunting. 
The  blare  of  the  music  that  had  sounded  so  gaily  in  her 
ears  but  a  few  minutes  before,  now  seemed  horribly  dis- 
cordant. The  patter  of  many  feet  on  the  waxed  floor 
reminded  her  of  one  dancing  figure.  Voices  rose  and 
fell  near  her;  there  were  sudden  bursts  of  laughter,  and 
she  heard  scraps  of  conversation  as  couples  stood  back  to 
rest  for  a  moment  beside  her  retreat. 

"  How  was  she  to  get  home  ?  "  she  wondered  wildly. 
She  could  not  go  out  and  order  a  boat.  If  she  spoke  to 
Mrs.  Ross,  there  would  be  explanations  and  exclama- 
tions; poor  Emma  would  be  dragged  away  and  all  their 
enjoyment  spoilt.  If  she  spoke  to  Captain  Leigh-Gar- 
rett  —  but  no,  she  instinctively  shrank  from  that.  Ham- 
my!  How  could  she  ever  have  slighted  the  dear  fellow. 
She  would  be  glad  enough  to  see  him  this  minute.  And  yet, 
what  could  he  do  ?  Taking  her  home  would  not  change 
matters  or  stop  that  foolish  creature,  who  was  not  only 
making  himself  ridiculous,  but  Florence  as  well. 
[137] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Suddenly  the  bunting  parted.  She  looked  up,  startled 
and  timid,  to  see  Christopher  Maxwell ;  he  came  in  and 
knelt  down  beside  her,  taking  her  hand. 

"  My  dear  girl,"  he  said  quickly  in  a  low  voice,"don't 
cry  whatever  you  do.  I  have  ordered  the  cutter  and  I'm 
going  to  take  Walter  Sprague  away  from  the  ship  my- 
self. I  promise  you  I  will  not  leave  his  side  till  I've  put 
him  on  board  the  steamer  to-morrow  morning  for  Maui. 
That  man  shall  not  trouble  you  again  in  Honolulu." 

"But  what  shall  I  do,  Mr.  Maxwell?  I  can't  stay 
here." 

"  Yes,  you  can.  Don't  make  a  mountain  out  of  this. 
Everybody  in  Honolulu  knows  Walter  Sprague,  they 
are  used  to  his  foolishness,  and  if  they  see  you  quiet  and 
composed,  no  one  will  think  of  saying  a  word.  But  you 
must  not  show  by  a  look  that  you  care.  Who  is  your 
next  partner  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Hooker,  the  navigating  officer." 

"The  very  man!  You  needn't  dance,  just  ask  him 
to  show  you  the  Gatling  and  he'll  take  you  up  on  the 
poop,  and  be  so  interested  in  his  own  talk  you  won't 
have  to  say  a  word,  but  just  let  him  explain  guns.  Then 
Mrs.  Ross  will  take  you  home  later  and  nobody  will 
have  noticed  anything." 

There  was  the  sound  of  a  long,  shrill  whistle  and  the 
call,  "Away,  first  cutter!" 

[138] 


MAX  TO  THE  RESCUE 

"That's  my  boat,"  said  Max.  "They  are  dancing 
now,  and  I  can  get  that  man  off  so  quietly  no  one  will 
pay  any  attention  to  us.  You  will  do  what  I  say  ?  " 

"  Everything/'  said  Florence. 

"That's  right,  you're  looking  better  already.  I'll 
send  Mr.  Hooker  here  to  find  you,  and  remember  to- 
morrow morning  Walter  Sprague  leaves  the  island. 
Trust  me  for  that.  Good-bye." 

When  the  navigating  officer  came  he  found  Florence 
composed,  though  still  very  pale. 

"  I'm  a  little  tired,"  she  said,  "  and  would  prefer  not 
to  dance,  but  if  you  would  be  so  good  I'd  like  to  see  the 
cannon." 

"Really!"  said  Mr.  Hooker,  with  a  look  of  pleased 
surprise.  "We  have  a  new  model  of  a  quick-firing, 
water-cooled,  automatic  Gatling  that  I'm  sure  will 
interest  you  immensely.  Would  you  like  to  see  it  ?  " 

'Wery  much,"  said  Florence. 


[139] 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 

In  the  Garden 

CHRISTOPHER  MAXWELL  was  as  good  as 
his  word ;  no  one  had  noticed  his  departure  from 
the  ship,  and  Walter  Sprague  sailed  the  next 
morning  for  Maui,  somewhat  surprised  at  the  unusual 
friendship  of  the  great  Mr.  Maxwell,  but  flattered  by  his 
attention,  and  not  a  little  proud  to  wave  a  hand  to  him 
from  the  departing  steamer. 

With  that  obstacle  removed  from  her  path,  Florence 
allowed  herself  to  be  swept  into  the  gaieties  of  Honolulu 
society  with  a  light  heart.  The  telephone  was  constantly 
ringing  in  Mrs.  Ross's  house,  with  messages  and  invita- 
tions for  Miss  Van  Voorhis.  There  were  rides  with  the 
Bonner  girls ;  long,  exhilarating  gallops  up  the  valley  to 
the  great  precipice  of  the  Pali,  from  whose  dizzy  height 
one  could  look  over  miles  of  sugar  plantations  to  the  blue 
sea  beyond.  There  were  impromptu  dances  at  the  Ah 
Sues's  house,  the  Chinese  merchant  with  the  half -white 
wife,  whose  sixteen  daughters,  and  one  son,  Billy,  were 
[140] 


IN  THE   GARDEN 

Florence's  devoted  friends;  there  were  little  suppers  at 
Mrs.  Landry's,  under  the  old  hau  tree  that  shaded  the 
back  porch,  where  lanterns  were  hung  in  the  branches, 
and  gay  parties  gathered  round  the  widow's  table, 
talking  and  laughing,  till  far  into  the  night.  It  was  here 
that  she  met  many  of  the  officers  of  the  various  ships  in 
port  —  Russian,  German,  English,  and  American,  each 
with  some  enthusiastic  plan  of  entertainment  on  shore, 
or  afloat.  Dances  on  the  ships,  tennis  on  shore, 
garden  parties,  church  bazaars,  and  picnics  followed 
one  another  in  rapid  succession.  The  cordial  good 
fellowship  of  her  new  friends,  the  admiration,  the 
gaiety,  even  the  flowers  and  sunshine  6f  Honolulu,  con- 
tributed to  her  pleasure. 

Captain  Leigh-Garrett  joined  the  King  and  a  party  of 
officers  from  the  various  ships  on  a  hunting  trip  after 
wild  cattle,  that  took  them  off  to  Hilo  for  a  couple  of 
weeks  after  the  Mohawk  dance,  but  the  time  was  so 
filled  up  with  excitement  for  Florence,  that  she  hardly 
noticed  his  absence. 

Hammy  was  growing  to  be  more  and  more  her  slave; 
nor  was  he  the  only  one.  The  Mohawk,  the  Pawtucket, 
and  the  Stupendous  contributed  devoted  swains,  and  her 
little  bower  hung  with  trophies;  a  sailor's  carved  ditty 
box;  frames  made  in  imitation  of  a  life  buoy,  with  the 
name  of  the  ship  in  gold  letters ;  shells,  small  model  ca- 
[141] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

noes,  a  spray  of  African  silver  sword,  and  a  bunch  of 
Australian  flannel  flowers.  The  little  stone  idol,  in  its 
gorgeous  white-and-gold  temple,  gave  Count  Tatsu  the 
excuse  to  send,  as  an  offering,  a  plate  of  rare,  scarlet  lac- 
quer, and  a  Japanese  vase  of  cloisonne. 

Mrs.  Ross's  afternoon  teas  in  the  garden,  under  the  old 
tamarind  tree,  grew  more  and  more  popular;  while 
Emma,  whose  gaieties  heretofore  had  been  of  a  sober, 
quiet  kind,  under  the  wing  of  a  defiantly  aggressive 
chaperon,  found  herself  swept  into  the  tide  on  the  cur- 
rent of  Florence's  success. 

Twice  that  afternoon  sounds  of  wailing  came  from 
the  cook-house,  and  the  Portuguese  girl  waited  at  dinner 
with  red  eyes  and  audible  sniffs,  for  Mrs.  Ross,  depriv- 
ed of  sleep  and  exhausted  by  late  hours,  was  distinctly 
cross.  Bella  was  to  make  chutney  the  next  day,  and  had 
forgotten  to  pick  the  mangoes. 

"Then  you'll  have  to  get  them  to-night,"  said  Mrs. 
Ross.  "  It's  just  like  you  to  put  it  off  till  the  last  min- 
ute. I  will  have  chutney  made  to-morrow,  and  it 
ought  to  be  on  and  boiling  the  first  thing  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

It  was  a  beautitul,  white  night,  the  moon  lighting  up 
each  shimmering  leaf,  as  Bella,  with  a  basket  on  her 
head,  came  through  the  banana  plantation  from  the 
cook-house. 

[142] 


IN  THE   GARDEN 

"  Come  out  in  the  garden,  Miss  Florence, "  cried  Vida, 
"  and  help  pick  mangoes.  " 

She  and  Emma  had  refused  at  least  five  invitations 
for  that  evening,  as  they  were  both  feeling  tired. 

"  It  won't  hurt  you  to  stay  at  home  for  once, "  said 
Mrs.  Ross.  She  had  put  on  gardening  gloves  and  carried 
a  pruning  knife. 

"  You  girls  keep  me  going  so, "  she  said  fretfully, 
"  that  I  haven't  had  time  to  look  at  my  garden.  Fortu- 
nately it  is  as  bright  as  day.  The  idea  of  Bella  putting  off 
picking  her  mangoes  till  this  time  of  night ! " 

"  Mana  and  I  went  up  the  valley  early  this  morning, " 
said  Vida,  "  and  got  some  lovely,  fresh,  ginger  roots." 

The  mangoes  were  still  green  and  hard,  but  Bella  ex- 
plained that  they  were  just  right  for  chutney.  Vida 
climbed  the  tree,  shaking  its  branches  violently;  Lulu 
and  the  Portuguese  girl  gathered  up  the  fruit,  while 
Emma  and  Florence,  who  had  brought  out  a  rug  and 
some  cushions,  reclined  restfully,  as  Mana  frisked  on 
the  grass.  Mrs.  Ross,  who  had  been  wandering  about 
the  garden  plucking  dry  leaves  off  here,  breaking  dead 
branches  there,  suddenly  screamed  aloud  as  though  she 
had  seen  a  snake  — 

"Oh,"  she  cried,  "will  you  look  at  that!  My  lovely 
camelia ! " 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Florence,  alarmed. 
[143] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Do  you  see  what  that  idiotic  gardener  has  done  to  my 
camelia ?  He  is  training  it  into  an  arm-chair!" 

Mrs.  Ross  sat  down  on  a  garden  bench,  her  voice 
raised  to  a  doleful  wail.  "  I  talk,  and  I  talk,  and  nobody 
pays  the  least  attention  to  anything  I  say.  I've  told  that 
Jap  a  thousand  times  I  didn't  want  any  umbrellas,  or 
beasts,  or  birds,  but  I  never  thought  of  telling  him  I 
didn't  want  an  arm-chair.  He's  never  around,  either, 
when  I  want  to  find  him. " 

"He's  gathering  same  tamarinds  for  Bella,"  said 
Emma. 

"Oh!"  cried  Florence.  "Look!  Isn't  that  he  out  on 
the  end  of  that  branch  ?  Aren't  you  afraid  he'll  fall  off  ?  " 

"I  wish  he  would!"  declared  Mrs.  Ross,  unmoved. 
"  I  wish  he'd  break  his  neck.  It's  the  best  thing  he  could 
do.  I  don't  see  how  I  go  on  the  way  I  do  without  being 
positively  ill  with  it  all.  Sometimes  I  have  the  most  ter- 
rible palpitations,  just  from  nervousness.  When  Wil- 
liam was  at  home  he  used  to  say  '  mother,  go  to  a  doc- 
tor,' but  I  said, '  no,  I'm  not  that  kind.'  I  can  suffer,  and 
suffer,  and  never  say  a  word.  I  don't  complain.  What  I 
put  up  with  would  have  killed  twenty  women.  It's  a 
wonder  I  didn't  die  with  the  trouble  I've  had  with  Vida 
and  Mana. " 

The  two  Princes,  who  were  pushing  each  other  about 
cheerfully  on  the  grass,  became  stricken  at  the  sound  of 

[144] 


IN  THE   GARDEN 

their  names,  and  looked  apprehensively  at  Lulu.  Flor- 
ence and  Emma  were  helping  Bella  peel  and  slice  the 
green  mangoes  into  a  large,  china  bowl,  as  they  all  sat 
on  the  rug  in  the  pleasant  moonlight. 

"  Those  boys  will  be  the  death  of  me  yet, "  went  on 
Mrs.  Ross.  Florence  had  never  seen  the  cheerful  little 
lady  in  this  mood  before,  but  the  Princes  knew,  from 
sad  experience,  what  was  coming. 

"  I'll  not  forget  about  the  bottles ! "  she  said,  evidently 
raking  up  a  sore  subject.  "  When  my  husband  built  this 
house,  Florence,  he  laid  down  a  lot  of  wine  in  the  cellar 
—  rows  and  rows  of  bottles  on  their  sides,  and  they've 
been  there  ever  since,  and  once  when  the  cellar  door  was 
left  open  —  " 

"We  didn't  know  there  was  anything  in  them," 
said  Vida  pleadingly. 

"  Well,  you  ought  to  have  known ! "  said  Mrs.  Ross. 
"They  played  soldiers  with  those  bottles  all  the  after- 
noon, and  when  William  came  home  —  he  was  here  on 
a  visit  —  I  never  saw  him  so  angry.  He  wanted  to  whip 
the  boys,  and  they  well  deserved  it,  but  I  said  '  no,  we'll 
shut  them  up  in  my  room  all  day,'  and  then  what  do  you 
think  they  did?" 

Mana  was  sitting  very  close  to  Florence.  He  touched 
her  hand  and  whispered  anxiously:  "That  was  a  long 
time  ago,  and  we  were  very  young  then.  " 
[145] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"You  were  old  enough  to  know  better,"  said  Mrs. 
Ross.  "  They  cut  my  best  silk  dress  up  with  the  scissors ! 
Snipped  little  pieces  out  of  it  all  the  way  down  the 
front. " 

"Oh,  wasn't  that  awful!"  cried  Lulu,  making  large 
eyes  at  the  boys.  "I  remember,  you  didn't  have  any- 
thing to  eat  all  day  but  poi. " 

"  What  is  poi  ? "  asked  Florence  briskly,  to  create  a 
diversion. 

"It's  native  food,  like  paste,"  said  Mana  sullenly. 
"  When  the  sitting-room  was  papered  last  year  the  men 
stuck  the  paper  on  with  poi,  and  then  they  ate  what  was 
left  over  for  lunch. " 

"We  have  it  for  dinner  when  there  isn't  any  com- 
pany, "  said  Vida.  "  You  eat  it  with  your  fingers,  with 
raw  fish  and  squid. " 

Mrs.  Ross  looked  uncomfortable.  "  I'm  very  fond  of 
raw  fish, "  she  said,  "  and  poi,  too.  The  King  always 
serves  it  at  the  luaus  —  that's  a  native  feast.  You  must 
learn  to  like  poi  if  you  are  to  stay  here.  But  poi  isn't 
what  it  used  to  be  when  I  was  young, "  she  was  evidently 
in  a  doleful  mood,  and  nothing  pleased  her.  "The 
Chinamen  make  it  now,  and  it  isn't  half  so  good  as  it 
used  to  be.  The  natives  are  getting  so  lazy  they  won't 
even  pound  their  own  taro. " 

"  I'm  not  lazy, "  said  Vida  incautiously. 
[146] 


IN  THE   GARDEN 

"You  are  so  lazy  you  don't  want  to  go  to  school," 
said  Mrs.  Ross.  "  You've  kept  up  that  cough  just  as  long 
as  you  could  whoop,  and  you  haven't  done  a  thing  for 
days. " 

"We  made  some  patchwork  for  Lulu's  doll's  quilt 
yesterday, "  said  Mana. 

"  Do  you  like  to  sew  ?  "  asked  Florence  surprised. 

"  Not  very  much, "  said  Mana,  "  but  Lulu  makes  us 
do  it. " 

"And  why  not?"  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "The  most  beauti- 
ful embroidery  I  ever  saw  was  done  by  an  American 
sailor.  But  that's  just  the  way,  you  don't  like  to  do  any- 
thing Lulu  asks  of  you.  I  heard  you  to-day  making  a 
great  fuss  because  you  didn't  want  to  play  tea-party  with 
her  nice  little  dishes.  I  never  saw  such  boys.  Did  you 
learn  that  piece  she  was  teaching  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  did, "  said  Mana  meekly. 

"Oh,  that's  lovely!"  said  Florence,  seeing  a  cheerful 
opening.  "  Won't  you  recite  it  for  us  ?  " 

Lulu  threw  down  her  knife  and  assumed  an  air  of 
great  importance. 

"They  do  it  together,  I  taught  them,"  she  said. 

"Get  up,  Vida." 

The  two  boys  walked  out  on  the  gravel  path  and  stood 
facing  each  other.  Bella  looked  on  delightedly,  dropping 
her  work.  Even  Mrs.  Ross  was  diverted  from  her  woes. 
[147] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Now  begin,"  said  Lulu.  "You  first,  Mana." 
That  young  person  stiffly  extended  one  arm,  and 

shouted  in  a  loud  voice :  "  Haul  down  that  flag ! " 

Mana  raised  a  finger  in  the  air  and  recited, "  No,  no  I 

he  cried. " 

"Both  together  now,"  screamed  Lulu,  and  the  two 

boys  went  on  in  unison : 

"  And  we  marched  out  with  all  the  honors  of  the  war !" 
The  two  boys  sat  down,  much  pleased  with  them- 


"  Oh ! "  said  Florence,  somewhat  disconcerted  at  the 
brevity  of  the  performance,  "  that's  lovely ! " 

M  They  do  seem  to  have  a  real  dramatic  talent, "  said 
Mrs.  Ross  relenting.  "  But  it's  wonderful  what  Lulu  can 
do  with  them.  I  don't  know  what  I  should  do  without  her. 
Emma  hasn't  a  bit  of  spirit.  " 

"  Bella  help,  Bella  very  good, "  cried  the  Portuguese 
girl,  dashing  in  to  save  her  beloved  Miss  Emma. 

"You  needn't  talk,"  said  Mrs.  Ross,  rising  to  the 
charge.  "  You  are  no  good  at  all.  When  that  gentleman 
called  yesterday  you  screamed  so  loud  he  could  hear 
every  word,  *  little  fat  man  come,  too  big  tummy, '  you 
did,  and  it  was  the  Captain  of  the  Pawtucket!  " 

There  was  the  sound  of  voices  at  the  Japanese  cot- 
tage; through  the  trees  they  could  see  the  long  windows 
open,  the  lights  lit,  and  a  group  of  fantastic  figures  ap- 
[148] 


IN  THE   GARDEN 

peared  on  the  porch,  shimmering  in  silks  of  rainbow 
hue. 

"  It's  Count  Tatsu  and  his  friends, "  said  Mrs.  Ross. 
"They  are  so  much  prettier  in  their  kimonos,  you'd 
hardly  know  the  count  for  the  same  man  if  you  saw  him 
in  his  Japanese  clothes. " 

"They  look  just  like  fluttering  butterflies,"  said 
Mana. 

Bella's  dish  was  filled  to  the  brim  with  sliced  green 
mangoes;  she  carried  them  to  the  cook-house,  aided 
gallantly  by  the  Princes,  who  were  waylaid  on  their  re- 
turn by  Lulu,  and  taken  off  to  bed.  Emma  had  slipped 
away  to  meet  Harry  the  half -white,  who  had  come  to 
call,  and  the  two  disappeared  in  the  shadow  of  the  dark 
veranda,  leaving  Florence  and  Mrs.  Ross  sitting  under 
the  tamarind  tree.  The  quiet  of  the  night,  the  beauty  sur- 
rounding them,  had  soothed  the  little  woman's  over- 
wrought nerves. 

"  When  I  was  a  young  girl, "  she  said,  "  we  never  went 
to  bed  when  the  moon  shone.  The  natives  love  beauty  in 
any  form,  and  on  such  an  evening  as  this  all  my  Ha- 
waiian blood  comes  to  the  surface. " 

c<  I  only  know  your  American  side, "  said  Florence.  "If 
it  were  not  for  your  voice,  which  is  softer  and  sweeter 
than  ours,  you  might  be  one  of  my  own  people. " 

"And  yet  I'm  very  different.  I  believe  in  all  sorts  of 
[149] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

strange  things  that  would  only  make  you  laugh,  though 
I've  seen  them  with  my  own  eyes.  It's  my  Hawaiian 
superstition. " 

"  The  Scotch  people  are  the  same, "  said  Florence  dip- 
lomatically. "  And  the  Irish.  They  talk  about  ghosts  and 
banshees,  and  second  sight,  and  the  Yankee  Puritans 
used  to  believe  firmly  in  witchcraft. " 

"Did  they?"  said  Mrs.  Ross  surprised.  "I  thought 
we  were  the  only  people  who  were  so  ignorant,  and  yet  I 
can't  help  it.  Whenever  the  red  fish  appear  in  the  bay,  I 
always  feel  a  little  fright,  lest  it  may  be  my  own  end  they 
are  foretelling;  you  know  they  are  only  seen  before  the 
death  of  a  Kamehameha.  When  Kamehameha  the 
Fourth  died,  the  natives  announced,  a  week  before,  that 
the  red  fish  were  in  the  bay;  and  it  was  the  same  when 
his  little  son  died.  My  own  mother's  brother  was 
prayed  to  death,  and  I  know  if  I  saw  two  little  sticks  in 
front  of  my  gate,  I'd  lie  down  and  die  of  it. " 

Florence  did  not  smile,  for  the  woman  was  deeply  in 
earnest. 

"I  only  know  one  man  who  was  saved  from  being 
prayed  to  death, "  she  went  on.  "  It  was  at  the  Bonner 
girls'  plantation,  and  their  luna  Pilani  announced  that 
he  was  going  to  die  on  a  certain  night,  for  an  enemy  was 
doing  incantations  against  him.  He  prepared  for  the  end 
and  gathered  his  family  about  him.  The  Bonner  girls 
[150] 


IN  THE  GARDEN 

came  down  to  see  him,  and  argued  and  scolded,  but  it 
was  no  use,  he  had  made  up  his  mind.  Fortunately  the 
plantation  house  took  fire.  One  by  one  the  mourners, 
who  had  been  wailing  and  despairing,  sneaked  off  to 
carry  water.  Pilani  found  himself  deserted ;  going  to  the 
door  to  look  out,  he  saw  what  was  happening  and  ran 
to  help,  and  then  he  got  so  interested  saving  the  build- 
ing that  the  time  for  his  death  passed,  and  he's  living 
yet.  But  if  he  hadn't  been  interrupted  he'd  have  surely 
died,  and  no  doctor  could  have  saved  him. " 

"Aren't  there  native  doctors  who  understand  such 
things?" 

Mrs.  Ross  lowered  her  voice.  "  The  Kahunas, "  she 
said,  "  are  magicians,  and  their  power  is  almost  always 
used  for  evil.  It  is  easier  for  them  to  kill  than  to  save.  I 
tell  you,  Florence,  in  a  great  calamity  the  natives  do  not 
call  upon  the  Kahunas  for  help,  but  beg  the  protection 
of  a  true  descendant  of  Kamehameha. " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  the  young  girl. 

"  I  saved  the  town  of  Hilo  from  destruction.  The  lava 
was  rolling  down  the  mountain  side  towards  the  sea,  a 
molten  mass  more  than  half  a  mile  wide,  and  the  little 
town  of  Hilo  lay  in  its  track.  The  natives  were  leaving 
in  boats,  the  Portuguese  people  were  fleeing  in  every 
direction,  prayers  were  held  in  the  churches,  but  the  tide 
swept  slowly  down,  relentlessly,  creeping  and  crawling, 
[151] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

putting  out  red  tongues  of  fire  and  then  coating  all 
over  black  as  it  cooled.  The  natives  were  frantic,  and  it 
was  then  that  they  sent  for  a  Kamehameha.  I  knew  I 
could  do  it,  Florence.  Standing  up  before  that  flow, 
I  gave  the  old  Hawaiian  incantation,  and  performed  the 
heathen  rite,  sacrificing  a  live  pig,  and  then  spreading 
my  mats  on  the  ground  in  the  track  of  the  lava  I  lay 
down  and  slept.  Florence,  it  stopped !  It  not  only  stopped 
short,  but  it  rolled  back  on  itself  and  hardened,  a  great 
mass  six  feet  high,  and  you  can  see  it  there  for  yourself 
any  day  you  go  to  Hilo.  I  did  it,  for  I  am  a  Kam- 
ehameha!" 

Mrs.  Ross,  relieved  from  any  fear  of  ridicule,  and  won 
over  by  the  young  girl's  rapt  attention,  went  on  telling 
more  strange  tales;  stories  of  the  evil  eye,  of  weird  in- 
cantations followed  by  sudden  death;  of  plants  whose 
very  perfume  is  deadly  poison;  of  apparitions,  re- 
incantations,  and  secret  heathen  rites.  When  she  wearied 
and  went  off  to  bed,  Florence  retired  to  the  bower,  in- 
tending to  follow  her  example,  but  her  mind  was  filled 
with  the  strange,  creepy  horrors;  the  night  in  its  bril- 
liance seemed  crowded  with  weird  fancies.  She  did  not 
light  the  lamp  but,  drawing  a  chair  to  the  edge  of  the 
balcony  and  resting  her  elbows  on  the  railing,  she  looked 
out  at  the  garden,  where  every  leaf  and  twig  was  lit 
by  the  moonbeams.  From  the  shady  recesses  of  the 
[152] 


IN  THE  GARDEN 

veranda  came  the  musical  trill  of  the  eukalele;  Emma 
and  Harry  were  singing  softly,  their  voices  mingling  in 
the  tender  song  of  "  The  Gardenia.  " 

"Auhea  wale  ana  oe 
Kuu  pua  Sadinia 
I  pulu  ike  kehau 
Oke  kakahi  aka." 

With  its  odd  little  "  half -white  "  chorus: 

"O/t,  I  never  will  forget  you, 
Tender  vow  that  you  gave  me. 
A  eia  no  me  a'u 
Kahi  konikoni  ai. " 

The  melody  had  a  lingering  sweetness  suitable  to  the 
moonlight,  the  beauty  and  the  odour  of  the  flowers. 
Emma  and  Harry  were  a  quiet  couple,  who  could  sit  side 
by  side  for  hours  without  exchanging  a  word.  Then 
one  or  the  other  would  start  a  song,  Harry  playing  the 
accompaniment  on  the  eukalele,  while  they  both  joined 
in  the  refrain. 

The  young  girl  glanced  about  her  little  bower.  All  was 
in  deep  shadow,  except  where  a  faint  taper  glowed  in  a 
cup  before  the  shrine  of  Ko  Ung.  It  lit  up  the  idol's  face, 
casting  strange,  flickering  shadows.  It  seemed  as 
though  the  inscrutable  countenance  smiled.  She  won- 
[153] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

dered,  looking  at  it  thoughtfully,  what  strange  lands  and 
strange  scenes  it  had  known  in  the  far  distant  past.  Had 
the  Aztec  lady  decorated  her  idol  with  strings  of  tur- 
quoise and  rings  of  obsidian  ?  Were  human  sacrifices  ever 
made  for  such  a  deity,  or  did  they  reserve  that  horror  for 
the  great  ones  ?  She  wondered  about  the  dead  woman 
who  had  loved  the  little  idol  so  much  that  she  carried  it 
to  the  grave  with  her.  Had  it  brought  her  happiness  ? 

It  was  growing  late.  The  Japanese  party  was  break- 
ing up;  there  were  sounds  of  laughter,  of  scraping  chairs, 
and  shouts  of  Sayanara.  One  by  one,  the  lights  that  had 
glimmered  in  the  cottage  windows  went  out.  The  lovers 
too,  had  parted.  Florence  heard  Emma's  voice  saying 
softly,  "Aloha,"  and  Harry's  "Aloha  nuioe"  from  the 
gate,  followed  by  the  shutting  of  a  door.  It  was  too  bright 
and  beautiful  a  night  to  leave.  Florence  still  lingered. 
The  whole  garden  lay  quiet  and  breathless  in  the  warm 
moonbeams.  All  was  silence.  No,  there  was  a  faint  rus- 
tling of  the  leaves,  a  footstep  on  the  gravel  path.  Two 
great  leaves  parted,  and  a  tall  man  in  evening  dress 
stepped  forward  into  the  bright  rays  of  the  moon  — 
Captain  Leigh-Garrett. 


[154] 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 

Dick 

"IT  "IT  THAT  is  it?  "cried  Florence,  startled.    "Is 
^^  anything  the  matter?" 

"Sh — "said  the  young  man  from  the  deep 
shadow  of  the  awning.  He  stepped  on  a  box  in  the 
garden  bed,  and  leaning  his  arms  on  the  veranda  railing, 
smiled  in  the  most  easy  and  assured  manner  possible. 

"  What  are  you  here  for  ?  "  asked  Florence,  still  some- 
what alarmed. 

"  We  just  got  back  this  afternoon,5*  said  Dick,  "  and 
this  is  the  first  chance  I've  had  to  see  you."  He  dropped 
his  hat  over  into  the  balcony  as  if  by  accident.  Though 
he  stood  in  the  shade,  the  bright  moonlight  showed  his 
face  quite  plainly,  even  the  gleam  of  his  blue  eyes  and 
the  slight  flush  on  his  cheek.  "  What  a  sweet  little  bow- 
er!"  he  went  on.  "  Why  didn't  you  ever  ask  me  in  here  ? 
That  old  room  with  the  feather  duster  was  good  enough 
for  me.  Here  you're  like  a  jewel  in  a  casket.  A  pearl  of 
great  price ! " 

[155] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Florence  made  a  movement  to  rise.  Dick  laid  a  hand 
on  her  arm  beseechingly.  "Please  don't  go,"  he  said. 
"  Do  sit  down  and  talk  to  me.  You  owe  me  that  much  for 
running  off  and  leaving  me  on  the  Mohawk.  Do  you 
realize  that  I  haven't  seen  you  for  two  weeks  ?  " 

"Is  it  so  long  as  that?" 

"It  seems  a  deuced  sight  longer  to  me.  You  should 
have  seen  me  hunt  for  you  on  the  Mohawk.  You  know 
the  captain  of  the  f oretop  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Florence,  lured  into  conversation  by 
the  harmlessness  of  the  topic.  "The  sailor  who  walks 
up  and  down  with  a  spy-glass." 

"  Well,  I  asked  him  about  you,  and  he  told  me  you 
were  up  looking  at  guns  with  the  navigating  officer,  and 
after  that  you  left  the  ship  with  two  ladies.  That  re- 
lieved my  mind,  though,  for  I  was  afraid  you  were  flirt- 
ing in  a  corner  with  old  Max." 

Florence  protested  indignantly. 

"Well,  he's  years  older  than  I  am,"  said  Dick. 

"Yes,  in  years,"  said  Florence,  "but  how  old  are 
you  in  iniquity  ?  " 

"  It  isn't  fair  to  chaff  a  fellow,"  said  Dick.  "  I've  told 
you  all  my  faults  and  now  you  throw  them  in  my  face. 
I  think  that  is  ungenerous.  It's  much  better  to  be 
friendly." 

"  Then  why  didn't  you  wait  till  to-morrow  and  make 
[156] 


DICK 

a  call  like  a  rational  human  being  instead  of  slipping 
through  the  garden  like  a  robber  ?  " 

"  There  aren't  any  robbers  on  the  island.  Everybody 
leaves  their  doors  and  windows  wide  open.  I  could  have 
walked  through  half  a  dozen  houses  on  my  way  up  here. 
We  only  have  one  robber  in  Honolulu,  and  he's  locked 
up  on  the  Mohawk.  Did  you  see  him,  by  the  way  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Florence,  "  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

Dick  laughed.  "You  and  old  Max  were  sitting  on  a 
box  right  in  front  of  his  cell.  If  you'd  looked  over  your 
shoulder  you'd  have  seen  him  in  a  sort  of  chicken-coop 
with  bars  in  front  of  it.  But  I  suppose  you  were  so  in- 
terested in  each  other  — " 

"Are  you  joking?"  asked  Florence.  "Was  there 
really  a  man  there  ?  A  prisoner  ?  " 

"  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it,"  said  Dick,  and  laying  his 
hands  on  the  veranda  railing  he  gave  a  light  jump  and 
seated  himself  beside  Florence,  swinging  his  long  legs 
comfortably.  "  Shall  I  tell  you  the  story  ?  It's  awfully 
interesting." 

"Well,"  said  Florence,  taken  aback,  "you  can  tell 
the  story  and  then  go.  Only  be  quick,  for  it's  late. 
Everybody's  in  bed." 

"  It  isn't  late  at  all.  You  know  on  moonlight  nights 
the  natives  don't  go  to  bed,  and  a  good  idea  too.  It's 
only  stupid  white  people  who  waste  the  loveliest  hours 
[157] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

of  the  tropics  in  sleep.  Look  at  that  moon.  It's  as  large 
as  a  dinner  plate.  Well,  to  my  story,"  as  Florence  made 
a  restless  movement. 

"  There  was  a  man  in  America,  somewhere,  who  em- 
bezzled a  lot  of  money  from  a  bank.  Widows  and  or- 
phans and  that  sort  of  thing.  He  skipped  to  Valparaiso 
with  the  booty.  Then  a  Pinkerton  detective  went  after 
him;  you  know  there's  no  extradition  treaty  there  no 
more  than  there  is  here.  He's  a  queer  duck." 

"Who?" 

"  The  detective.  You  must  have  seen  him  on  the  Mo- 
hawk. The  officers  snub  him  and  won't  associate  with 
him  or  you  might  have  had  him  for  a  partner  in  the 
mazy." 

"  I'd  love  to  see  a  real  detective.  What  was  he  like  ?  " 

"Little  slim  chap  with  brown  eyes.  Looks  an  awful 
muff.  Not  a  bit  like  my  idea  of  a  shrewd  squint-in-the- 
keyhole,  spot-you-on-sight  Johnny.  They  say  he's  a 
winner  too.  Sally  tried  to  pump  him  about  his  daring 
exploits,  for  he's  got  a  corking  record;  but  he  talked 
fashions  and  the  new  way  to  dress  ladies'  hair  and  she 
couldn't  get  a  word  out  of  him  about  shop." 

"You're  spinning  this  story  out  very  long,"  said 
Florence  suspiciously. 

"No,  really,  you  ought  to  hear  it.  Pinky  traced  his 
man  to  Valparaiso  where  he  was  stopping  in  a  quiet 
[158] 


DICK 

little  boarding-house.  He  engaged  the  next  room  to  Mr. 
Embezzler  and  proceeded  to  groan  and  moan  and  pre- 
tend to  be  frightfully  ill.  Embezzler  was  sorry  for  him." 

"He  seemed  to  have  had  good  qualities  for  a  thief." 

"When  the  enterprising  burglar  isn't  burgling,  you 
know,  he  had  a  kind  heart.  He  went  in  and  sat  by  the 
poor  sick  man  and  held  his  fevered  hand,  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing.  Pinky  kept  it  up  till  the  Mohawk  came  into 
port.  The  embezzler  was  pretty  jumpy,  and  wanted  to 
skip;  but  every  time  he  made  a  move  to  go,  Pinky  got 
another  spasm.  He  begged  the  embezzler  for  God's 
sake  not  to  leave  him  alone  to  die  in  a  strange  land. 
They  were  both  Americans  and  he  appealed  to  the  em- 
bezzler as  a  fellow  countryman  to  get  him  on  board  the 
Mohawk  where  he  had  friends  who  would  take  care  of 
him.  The  thief,  like  a  silly  ass,  helped  him ;  got  a  litter 
and  carted  Pinky  to  the  ship,  lending  a  hand  himself  to 
haul  him  on  board;  and  the  minute  they  both  stood  on 
the  deck  of  the  man-of-war,  Pinky  squared  off  and 
said : '  This  is  United  States  territory.  We  are  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  American  flag,  and  I  arrest  you  in  the 
name  of  — whatever  they  say  instead  of  the  Queen. ' ' 

"What  a  horrible  trick!" 

"  Wasn't  it  ?  They  said  the  embezzler  wept  and  wailed 
and  said  his  feelings  were  hurt." 

"  I  should  think  they  would  be,  poor  man." 
[159] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  But  what  about  the  feelings  of  the  widows  and  or- 
phans ?  " 

"I  suppose  the  detective  was  right,  but  it  seems  a 
cowardly  thing  to  do." 

"  That's  what  the  Mohawks  thought.  They  could  not 
refuse  to  bring  the  detective  and  his  prisoner  up  here, 
for  she's  homeward  bound.  But  they  hated  the  whole 
business.  The  wardroom  was  down  on  Pinky  and 
refused  to  mess  with  him.  Served  him  at  a  table  by  him- 
self. The  blue  jackets  twigged  something  was  wrong, 
and  they,  too,  sent  him  to  Coventry,  so  he  had  a 
pretty  mouldy  time  on  the  trip  up." 

"  And  the  poor  man  was  right  there  behind  us  all  the 
time!"  said  Florence. 

"Oh,  he's  all  right,"  said  Dick.  "The  fellows  see 
that  he  gets  good  grub,  and  poke  cigars  at  him  through 
the  slats." 

Florence  laughed.  "That  can't  be  much  consolation 
to  a  man  in  his  position." 

"  He  isn't  tried  yet.  Perhaps  he  may  get  off." 

"  Now  the  story  is  ended,"  said  Florence  pointedly. 

"Please  don't  go  in,"  said  Dick.  "What  are  you  in 
such  a  hurry  for  ?  You  don't  see  such  a  moon  every  day 
in  your  life.  Night,  I  mean.  A  moon  like  that  would  get 
an  Egyptian  mummy  into  a  breach  of  promise  case." 

"  Then  you'd  better  fly,  that's  what  you  ought  to  do." 
[160] 


DICK 

"  I  can  conscientiously  say  that  I  have  never  in  my 
life  done  what  I  ought  to  do.  My  life,  Miss  Van  Voorhis, 
has  been  a  steady  go  of  leaving  undone  those  things 
a  fellow  ought  to  do  and  t'other  way  about.  Now 
you  are  the  kind,"  he  went  on  seriously,  "that  knows 
beforehand  what  to  do  and  does  it.  I  mean  you  know 
what's  rigfit.  I'm  an  awful  duffer  to  talk,  but  you  know 
what  I  mean." 

"  Don't  you  do  what  is  right  ?  " 

"The  question  does  not  interest  me.  If  I  want  to  do 
a  thing  I  generally  do  it.  What's  the  good  of  worrying  ? 
I  wanted  to  come  here  to-night  and  I  came.  I  got  hun- 
gry for  the  sight  of  you  and  I  was  drawn  some  way. 
Regular  cart-horse  draw  — " 

"  I'm  afraid  you  didn't  resist  very  hard." 

"No,  honestly,  I  didn't.  Why  should  I?  Nobody 
knows  I'm  here,  nobody  can  see  or  hear  us.  Just  for 
this  minute  we  are  alone  together  in  the  world,  you  and 
I."  He  had  slily  moved  his  hand  along  the  railing  till 
it  touched  her  elbow  as  if  by  accident.  She  wore  a  soft 
pearly  gown  of  nun's-veiling  with  wide  sleeves,  and 
her  white  arms  crossed  before  her  were  bare  and  cool. 
She  was  amused  by  his  talk,  though  a  little  fright- 
ened. 

"I  love  a  woman  with  pluck,"  he  went  on.  "You 
climbed  right  into  my  heart  when  you  came  over  the 
[161] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

wheel  of  my  cart  that  day.  You  aren't  afraid  of  any- 
thing on  earth,  are  you  ?  " 

"Indeed  I  am,  I'm  afraid  of  public  opinion  for  one 
thing,  and  the  gossip  of  Honolulu  — " 

"Is  that  a  hint  for  me?"  he  said.  "Do  you  think  I 
ought  to  care  for  the  gossip  of  this  place  ?  God  knows 
they  talk  about  me  badly  enough." 

"You  must  have  done  something  to  deserve  it." 
"It  has  always  been  the  same  wherever  I  lived  or 
whatever  I  did.  There  are  dear  old  English  ladies  talk- 
ing about  me  this  moment  and  wagging  their  caps  over 
my  misdeeds.  That  is,  if  they  don't  mix  me  up  with  my 
brothers." 

"  I  didn't  know  you  had  any  brothers." 
"  Four  of  'em,  and  all  between  me  and  the  baronetcy. 
They're  scattered  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  If  I 
went  back  now  I  know  exactly  how  my  aunts  would 
receive  me.  'So  glad  to  see  you!  And  how  do  you 
stand  the  cold  climate  out  there?'  Then  I'd  explain 
that  it's  Claud  who  has  horses  in  Northwest  Canada; 
'Oh,  yes,  you're  dear  Richard  from  Honolulu,'  and 
then  in  five  minutes  they'd  ask  how  I  got  on  with 
my  sheep,  and  I'd  remind  them  that  it  is  Cecil 
who's  in  Australia.  Family  ties  are  not  very  strong 
with  us  but  then,  you  see,  we  don't  waste  our  feelings, 
and  when  we  meet  the  right  girl  we  have  an  accu- 
[162] 


DICK 

mulation  of  affection  to   offer  that   is   perfectly  tre- 
mendous." 

"I  think,  on  the  contrary,  that  it's  the  reason  why 
you  are  so  cynical." 

"Me,  cynical?"  cried  Dick,  surprised.  "I  wear  my 
heart  on  my  sleeve!  I  am  the  most  emotional  creature 
imaginable !  Didn't  you  feel  it  when  we  first  met  ?  I  fell 
in  love  with  you  on  sight  in  the  real  sentimental,  old- 
fashioned  way.  If  I  wore  my  hair  long,  and  a  feather  in 
my  velvet  cap  you'd  recognize  the  genuine  article." 

"Now  you're  jeering  at  yourself.  That's  what  I  call 
cynical." 

"  I'm  not  jeering.  I'm  in  dead  earnest.  When  we  were 
off  on  this  hunting  trip  I'd  lie  awake  nights  thinking  of 
you,  when  the  other  fellows  were  so  tired  they'd  sleep 
like  logs.  I  even  went  out  on  the  beach  and  wandered 
up  and  down  in  the  dead  of  night  to  cool  my  fevered 
brow.  I'd  have  written  poetry  if  I'd  known  how,  or 
lifted  up  my  voice  in  song." 

"You  must  go  now,  Captain  Leigh-Garrett,  really," 
said  Florence. 

"Oh,  I'm  not  going  to  sing,"  he  answered  quickly. 
"  Let  me  stay  here.  If  you  only  knew  what  it  meant 
to  me  to  be  allowed  to  see  you  —  to  have  you  to 
myself  if  only  for  a  stolen  half  hour.  Don't  grudge  me 
that." 

[163] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  It  isn't  right,"  said  Florence,  "  and  I'd  like  you  bet- 
ter if  you  did  as  I  asked  you." 

"  Don't  put  it  like  that !  You're  taking  a  mean  advan- 
tage. It  is  right,  if  good  influence  on  a  man's  life  counts 
for  anything.  Don't  you  think  I'm  better  off  here, 
breathing  the  air  you  breathe  than  gambling  at  the 
King's  boat-house  ?  " 

"Is  that  the  only  alternative?"  said  Florence.  "I'd 
be  ashamed  to  admit  it." 

"  But  I  never  said  I  wasn't  a  black  sheep.  I  am,  of  the 
deepest  dye  —  but  since  I've  known  you  I  care  as  I 
never  cared  before.  It's  a  rotten,  empty,  vulgar  life  that 
I  lead  and  I'm  ashamed  of  it.  I've  wasted  my  youth, 
I've  given  the  best  that's  in  me  to  people  I  wouldn't 
wipe  my  feet  on.  You  are  right.  I  do  jeer  —  I  scorn 
other  people,  but  the  man  I  despise  most  of  all  is  my- 
self. I  was  satisfied  enough  till  I  met  you,  and  you  look- 
ed at  me  in  that  cool,  sweet,  feminine  way  of  yours. 
Then  I  saw  myself  as  I  really  am.  I  came  to  you  to- 
night like  a  drowning  man  to  a  straw  —  no,  I  don't 
mean  that,  you're  not  a  straw,  nor  a  reed,  but  a  rock 
of  strength.  You're  my  good  angel." 

Florence  rose  to  her  feet. 

"Don't  send  me  away!"  cried  Dick  and  then,  as  he 
read  her  face,  "  I'm  going,"  he  said.  "  Won't  you  say  a 
word  to  me  —  no!  don't  say  it!  Don't  hate  me!  I  won't 
[164] 


DICK 

come  here  again  so  late,  I  promise  you.  It  was  a  mad 
thing  to  do  and  I'm  sorry  for  I  see  it  worries  you.  But 
let  me  — "  He  glanced  about  the  bower  for  some  excuse 
to  linger,  and  noticed  the  light  burning  in  front  of  Ko 
Ung.  "Let  me  make  an  offering  to  the  idol  before  I 

go-" 

"  No,  no,"  said  Florence. 

"You  allow  other  people  to  make  her  presents,  why 
do  you  withhold  her  favour  from  me,  who  really  need 
a  little  luck?  I  have  an  incense  burner  of  solid  silver, 
a  perfect  beauty,  I  got  in  Burmah,  and  I'll  bring  it  to 
Ko  Ung." 

"  Then  why  stay  now  ?" 

"Because  she  mightn't  understand  what  I  mean  to 
do,  and  I  need  the  luck  at  once.  I  think  it  ought  to  be 
explained  to  her.  I  have  an  idea !  I'll  leave  my  ring 
as  a  pledge — "  He  swung  over  into  the  bower  and 
went  to  the  temple,  walking  softly;  sinking  on  one  knee 
and  looking  up  at  the  idol :  "  Ko  Ung,"  he  said,  "  deign 
to  smile  upon  your  faithful  servant  and  his  humble 
fortunes.  This  ring,"  holding  it  up  before  her,  "this 
ring  bears  the  coat  of  arms  of  my  regiment.  The  stone 
was  picked  up  by  an  illustrious  member  of  my  family 
upon  the  field  of  battle.  What  little  good  there  is  in  me, 
what  tiny  grain  of  principle  or  honour,  is  bound  up  with 
my  regiment.  So  you  may  trust  this  as  a  symbol  of  all 
[165] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

I  hold  sacred,  oh,  respected  Graven  Image,  and  I  leave 
it  as  a  pledge  that  I  will  bring  you  a  silver  incense 
burner;"  he  laid  it  on  the  velvet  step.  "  In  return  I  beg 
oh,  most  August  Lady,  that  you  keep  an  eye  upon  my 
bank  account;  direct  me  at  the  gaming  table;  give  me 
tips  on  the  races;  guide  my  hand  to  fortune,  and  oh, 
most  of  all  I  beg  thee,  Inscrutable  One,  soften  my  lady's 
heart !  May  the  girl  I  love  smile  upon  me ! " 

Without  another  word,  even  of  farewell,  the  young 
man  snatched  up  his  hat,  vaulted  over  the  railing,  and 
disappeared  into  the  night. 


[166] 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

In  "Portugee  Town" 

IT  was  the  day  after  Dick's  visit,  and  Florence  felt 
somewhat  uncomfortable  all  the  morning  with  a 
vague  sense  of  wrongdoing.  The  adventure  had 
seemed  very  gay  and  innocent  under  the  light  of  the 
moon,  but  the  memory  of  it  weighed  on  her  in  a  manner 
she  could  not  define.  Singularly  enough,  it  was  the 
thought  of  Christopher  Maxwell  that  was  uppermost 
in  her  mind.  She  felt  instinctively  that  he  would  have 
disapproved  of  her  conduct,  and  yet,  she  asked  herself, 
why  should  she  care  for  his  good  opinion  ?  He  was 
nothing  to  her.  She  was  dissatisfied  with  herself  and 
the  world  that  morning.  It  was  very  hot  weather,  sultry 
and  heavy,  and  the  nerves  of  the  whole  household  were 
affected.  Being  Saturday,  the  Princes  and  Lulu  were 
home  from  school.  Mana  and  Vida,  discovering  some 
boards  in  an  unused  summer-house  had  started  off 
hilariously  with  hammer  and  nails  to  make  a  theatre, 
when  they  were  interrupted  by  Lulu,  who  bore  down 
[167] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

upon  them  with  fury,  carrying  them  off  to  sew  on  her 
doll's  clothes.  There  had  been  an  agonizing  scene. 
Florence  was  powerless  to  interfere,  for  Mrs.  Ross, 
emerging  hot  and  indignant  from  the  kitchen  where 
she  had  been  scolding  Bella  for  breaking  a  jar  of  chut- 
ney, issued  peremptory  orders  for  the  Princes  to  obey 
Lulu.  Then  a  half -white  friend  of  Emma's  came  to  call 
and  the  two  girls  had  spent  an  hour  on  Florence's 
veranda;  an  hour  so  silent  and  heavy,  so  filled  with 
long,  placid  pauses  and  Hawaiian  repose  of  manner 
that  their  hostess  in  her  present  state  of  nerves  had 
been  driven  to  the  verge  of  screaming.  Snatching 
up  her  hat  and  murmuring  a  vague  excuse  she  started 
out  for  a  walk,  oblivious  of  the  hour  and  the  heat. 

Portuguee  town  blossoms  like  a  rose  on  the  barren 
slope  of  Punch-bowl.  The  dusty  road  led  Florence 
through  the  thick  of  the  village,  where  little  green  and 
red  and  pink  houses  perched  on  the  steep  hillside,  each 
with  its  tiny  garden  and  grape  arbour.  Swarthy  women 
looked  out  from  the  open  doorways  or  went  back  and 
forth  preparing  the  noonday  meal.  Nurserymen  worked 
in  the  midst  of  vivid  patches  of  carnations,  geraniums 
and  lilies.  The  place  swarmed  with  children;  black- 
eyed,  black-haired  little  girls  and  sturdy  handsome 
boys,  playing  under  the  shadow  of  the  vines. 

Florence  had  passed  the  Mormon  church,  a  plain 
[168] 


IN  "PORTUGEE  TOWN" 

wooden  building  with  a  large  eye  painted  over  the  en- 
trance, when  she  heard  the  sound  of  wheels  behind  her 
and  stepped  to  one  side  to  let  the  carriage  pass.  To  her 
surprise  it  stopped ,  and  Hamilton  Todd  jumped  into 
the  road,  an  expression  of  intense  satisfaction  lighting 
up  his  countenance. 

"This  is  an  unexpected  pleasure!'*  he  exclaimed. 
"  Will  you  allow  me  to  carry  you  to  your  destination  ?  " 

"  I'm  not  going  anywhere,"  said  Florence,  "  but  you 
can  come  with  me  if  you  like.  I  warn  you,  though;  it's 
awfully  dusty." 

Hammy  sent  the  express  off  and  walked  on  at  her  side. 

"Now  I  know  the  meaning  of  Captain  Leigh-Gar- 
rett's  expression  that  whenever  he  cast  his  shad  upon 
the  waters  it  came  back  planked. " 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"  I  mean,"  said  Hammy,  "  that  I  am  rewarded  for  a 
generous  impulse.  The  poor  old  paymaster  had  a  com- 
mission of  importance  to  attend  to  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, to  bring  remuneration  to  the  ship's  florist,  and 
he  was  in  a  great  state  of  perplexity,  as  he  had  a  multi- 
tude of  affairs  in  hand  and  the  temperature  at  boiling 
point,  so  I  undertook  the  performance  of  that  duty  my- 
self, and  behold  how  I  am  rewarded ! " 

"  It  was  compliment  enough,  Mr.  Todd,"  said  Flor- 
ence, smiling,  "  for  you  to  jump  out  of  your  carriage  into 
[169] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

this  heat  and  dust  for  my  sake  without  saying  anything 
about  rewards."  She  glanced  up  at  Hammy,  tall,  raw- 
boned,  and  red-faced,  with  genuine  regard.  In  her  pres- 
ent state  of  discontent  his  honest  devotion  was  balm  to 
her  soul. 

"Isn't  Portuguee  town  pretty?"  she  said.  "I  have 
never  walked  in  this  direction  before  and  had  no  idea  it 
was  so  near  at  hand.  It  looks  so  thrifty,  and  busy  too, 
and  the  people  seem  wonderfully  happy.  See  that  little 
salmon-coloured  house  on  the  hill ! " 

"  It  is,  comparatively,  hardly  larger  than  a  pill-box." 

"And  yet  you  know  at  once,  from  all  those  pots  of 
flowers  in  the  windows  and  the  elaborate  garden  laid 
out  in  squares  and  diamonds,  that  the  owner  takes  a 
great  pride  in  his  home.  Who  could  be  really  unhappy 
in  a  salmon-pink  house  ?  " 

"  If  we  could  rightly  interpret  the  language  of  colours, 
we  might  be  able  to  read  the  characters  of  the  inhabi- 
tants." 

"  You  mean  there  is  jealousy  in  the  green  house  ?  And 
a  poor  deserted  swain  in  the  yellow,  and  they  love  one 
another  under  the  red  roof  ? 

*  Yellow's  forsaken, 
Green  is  foresworn, 
Bid  blue  is  prettiest 
Colour  that's  worn.' 
[170] 


IN  "PORTUGEE  TOWN" 

Florence  went  on  as  they  stopped  before  a  cottage  paint- 
ed in  the  brightest  possible  tint  of  azure. 

"This  is  my  destination,"  said  Hammy,  holding 
back  the  gate  as  they  passed  in  under  a  green  archway. 

"What  a  dear  little  place!"  said  Florence.  "Ter- 
races and  arbours  and  hothouses  and  rockeries,  and  it 
can't  be  much  larger  than  a  billiard  table ! " 

"And  exceedingly  refined  taste,  too,"  said  Hammy, 
looking  approvingly  at  the  gravel  paths  bordered  with 
beer  bottles  hammered  into  the  ground  upside  down. 
"  These  people  represent  the  poorest  class  of  immigrants, 
and  yet  I  don't  believe  there  is  a  land-owner  in  Hono- 
lulu, even  Christopher  Maxwell,  with  all  his  millions, 
who  takes  more  satisfaction  in  his  estate  than  Pedro 
Almeida.  This  is  Pedro,  Miss  Van  Voorhis." 

A  short,  sturdy  Portuguese  came  smiling  out  of  the 
blue  house  and  bade  them  welcome  with  an  air  of  hon- 
est pride.  He  was  quick  to  notice  Florence's  glances  of 
admiration,  and  when  he  and  Hammy  had  settled  their 
business  together,  he  offered  to  show  them  over  the 
place.  The  garden  lay  on  a  steep  slant  of  Punch-bowl, 
where  Pedro  had  cut  a  number  of  terraces  that  were 
now  blooming  in  carnations  and  geraniums.  There  was 
an  infinitesimal  rockery  with  ferns  and  wide-leaved 
water  plants;  a  sunken  barrel  contained  gold-fish; 
there  was  a  tiny  hothouse  and  many  odd  contrivances, 
[171] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

all  of  which  were  minutely  inspected  and  admired 
under  the  guidance  of  Pedro;  but  the  pride  of  the  estate 
was  the  grape-arbour.  It  was  supported  on  bamboo 
poles,  covered  with  a  solid  roof  of  green  leaves,  and  the 
side  towards  the  town  trained  into  a  series  of  arches. 
Inside  the  arbour  was  a  table  and  several  chairs,  where 
the  visitors  were  glad  to  accept  seats  in  the  refreshing 
shade. 

It  would  have  taken  a  stupider  man  than  Pedro 
Almeida  to  have  missed  the  fact  that  the  lieutenant  was 
in  a  seventh  heaven  of  happiness.  He  took  the  young 
man  to  one  side  and  made  a  suggestion  that  Hammy 
received  with  exclamations  of  delight. 

"What  an  opportune  suggestion!"  he  cried.  "Miss 
Van  Voorhis,  Pedro  says  he  can  prepare  a  luncheon 
for  us  here  and  serve  it  in  the  arbour.  He  says  his  wife 
is  a  famous  cook ! " 

"  Broila  chick,"  said  Pedro  insinuatingly. 

"I'd  love  it!"  said  Florence.  "But  what  about  Mrs. 
Ross  ?  She  will  wonder  what  has  become  of  me." 

"  I'll  telephone,"  said  Hammy,  and  he  rushed  off  to 
find  a  grocery  near  at  hand,  which  Pedro  pointed  out 
from  the  gate.  A  slim  brown  girl  with  a  scarlet  kerchief 
tied  over  her  head  introduced  herself  by  saying  proudly, 
"Pedro  my  Poppa,"  and  showed  Florence  into  the 
house,  which  was  as  small  and  as  clean  as  a  new  toy, 
[172] 


IN  "PORTUGEE  TOWN" 

fresh  from  the  box.  She  helped  the  visitor  off  with  her 
hat,  poured  out  some  water  from  a  highly  ornamented 
jug  and  brushed  the  dust  off  Florence's  skirts  with  her 
own  hands,  even  bringing  a  damp  cloth  to  wipe 
her  shoes. 

The  little  room  was  hung  with  pink  curtains,  there 
was  a  tinted  crucifix  on  the  wall,  some  brackets  sup- 
porting highly-coloured  vases  of  paper  flowers,  some- 
what superfluous  ornaments  in  the  house  of  a  nursery- 
man. There  was  shell- work  and  bead- work  and  wax- 
work and  when  Florence  admired  the  lace  bed-spread, 
laid  out  over  a  bright  green  lining,  the  Portuguese  girl 
touched  herself  on  the  breast  and  nodded,  indicating 
that  she  had  made  it  herself. 

Pedro  discreetly  disappeared,  leaving  Florence  and 
Hammy  to  wander  about  the  garden  by  themselves 
while  they  waited  for  luncheon.  The  paths  were  so  nar- 
row they  had  to  walk  single  file;  the  hothouse  would 
only  admit  one  head  at  a  time  for  an  admiring  glance 
and  they  could  have  stepped  across  the  rockery,  but  the 
evidences  of  care  and  loving  toil  in  the  blooming  ter- 
races guiltless  of  weeds;  the  clean  gravel,  the  orna- 
mental shells,  and  even  the  borders  of  beer  bottles 
made  the  little  place  infinitely  attractive.  They  returned 
to  the  arbour,  cool  and  fragrant,  in  the  shadow  of  the 
clustering  leaves,  and  took  their  places  at  the  white 
[173] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

table,  smiling  at  each  other  over  the  tops   of  the  red 
carnations  plucked  in  their  honour. 

Pedro  himself  served.  The  spring  chickens  were  broil- 
ed to  a  turn;  nothing  could  be  crisper  than  the  salad 
fresh  from  the  garden;  and  the  wine,  opened  with  in- 
tense seriousness,  had  come  all  the  way  from  Madeira 
to  grace  their  little  feast. 

"  I  didn't  look  forward  to  such  a  pleasant  adventure 
when  I  started  out  this  morning,"  said  Florence. 

"Nor  I,"  said  Hammy.  "After  this  I'll  hasten  to  exe- 
cute all  the  paymaster's  commissions." 

Heat  and  emotion  were  not  becoming  to  Lieu- 
tenant Todd.  His  blue  eyes  looked  almost  white  by 
contrast  with  his  crimson  face.  His  hair,  which  was 
soft  and  fine,  clung  to  his  damp  forehead  in  little 
wisps,  while  his  collar  lay  in  a  wilted  string  about 
his  neck.  Fortunately  the  young  man  was  unaware 
of  these  drawbacks  and  beamed  across  the  table, 
supremely  happy. 

"  See,"  said  Florence,  glancing  down  upon  the  bird's- 
eye  view  of  Honolulu  with  the  sea  stretching  out  a  sheen 
of  deepest  blue  to  the  far  horizon.  "  What  a  lovely  pic- 
ture we  have  before  us,  framed  in  vine  leaves.  I 
imagine  the  bay  of  Naples  must  look  something  like 
this ;  I  mean  the  same  curve  of  the  shore  and  color  of 
the  water." 

[174] 


IN  "PORTUGEE  TOWN" 

"It  is  somewhat  similar,  only  in  Naples  we  were 
more  impressed  by  the  odours  on  the  water-front  than 
the  beauty  of  the  scene." 

"  It  must  be  so  interesting  to  be  in  the  navy  and  see 
the  world." 

"On  the  contrary  you  don't  have  any  opportunity 
to  inspect  it.  That  is  the  trouble.  When  we  were  sta- 
tioned in  Japan  we  only  had  an  occasional  day  of  liber- 
ty —  never  a  protracted  leave  enabling  us  to  investigate 
the  interior." 

"  But  you  saw  different  countries  ?  " 

"There  is  a  monotonous  sameness  about  a  sailor's 
life,  Miss  Van  Voorhis.  You  are  received  formally  and 
hospitably  by  the  English  and  American  residents,  and 
you  pay  your  official  respects  to  government  representa- 
tives. Of  course,  some  countries  are  superior  to  others 
in  attractiveness,  and  Honolulu  is  the  favourite  on  the 
Pacific  station.  There  was  universal  rejoicing  when 
we  had  orders  to  proceed  here." 

"  And  what  place  did  you  like  the  least  ?  " 

"  Paita,  Peru !  It  is  absolutely  devoid  of  interest,  and 
I'd  infinitely  prefer  prison  bars  to  returning  there  even 
for  an  infinitesimal  atom  of  time. " 

"  You  are  not  likely  to  be  ordered  back,  are  you  ?  " 

"  No,  Heaven  be  praised.  Our  ship  will  be  returning  to 
America  soon.  Even  now,  the  blue  jackets  are  preparing 
[175] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

the  homeward  bound  pennant  and  discipline  is  begin- 
ning to  relax  somewhat." 

Pedro  appeared  with  an  omelette  in  a  bed  of  parsley, 
which  he  set  on  the  table  with  an  air  of  great  impor- 
tance. 

"  I  always  appreciate  impressiveness,"  said  Hammy. 
"  That  is  the  secret  of  the  success  they  make  in  the 
fashionable  restaurants  when  they  exhibit  a  dish  before 
they  serve  it." 

"A  sort  of  'oh,  see  what  you're  going  to  get!' 
And  then  I  suppose  you  all  looked  pleased." 

"  Even  if  it  is  only  a  mutton-chop  one  respects  it  more 
highly  when  it  is  elaborately  served.  But  this  omelette  is 
like  good  wine,  it  *  needs  no  bush. ' ' 

"  I  always  judge  a  cook  by  his  omelette.  It  is  so  simple 
and  easy  to  make  a  good  one,  and  yet  hardly  anybody 
can  do  it." 

"  Are  you  an  adept  in  cookery  ?  "  asked  Hammy,  with 
a  touch  of  awe  in  his  voice. 

"  Indeed,  I  am.  All  California  girls  can  cook  and  most 
of  the  men.  I  suppose  it  is  because  we  go  out  camping 
so  much  and  have  chances  to  show  off  our  accomplish- 
ments. 

Hammy  sighed  deeply.  "It  only  needed  that,"  he 
said. 

"  What  do  you  mean?" 

[176] 


IN  "PORTUGEE  TOWN" 

"Your  knowing  how  to  cook." 

"  What  difference  does  that  make  ?  " 

"I  have  often  heard  it  remarked,"  said  Hammy, 
"that  a  naval  officer  should  not  marry.  But  don't  you 
think  they  require  a  home  more  than  other  people? 
They  lead  such  lonely  lives.  A  sailor  is  an  unhappy  man." 

"They  don't  seem  so  to  me,"  said  Florence.  "The 
naval  men  I've  met  looked  very  cheerful." 

"It  is  a  terrible  life!"  said  Hammy  gloomily.  "All 
dancing  on  shore  and  quarrelling  on  board.  You  know, 
Miss  Van  Voorhis,  I  have  considerable  means  beside 
my  pay." 

Florence  looked  at  the  young  man  somewhat  em- 
barrassed at  the  sudden  change  in  his  voice. 

"Shall  I  pour  out  the  coffee?"  she  said  nervously. 
"  It  is  sure  to  be  good.  Thank  you.  Pedro,  your  lunch 
has  been  a  great  success.  Will  you  give  my  compliments 
to  your  wife  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  happiest  product  of  nature,"  said  Ham- 
my. "A  contented  man.  How  seldom  one  encounters 
such  a  being.  My  own  existence  is  a  hollow  mockery. 
You  know,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  I  have  always  been  de- 
voted to  ladies'  society  and  yet  I'm  doomed  to  spend  my 
life  with  men,  and  not  always  men  that  I  am  in  sym- 
pathy with.  The  wardroom  of  a  man-of-war  is  close 
quarters  sometimes." 

[177] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  But  you  are  not  always  on  shipboard  ?  " 
"A  far  greater  percentage  of  my  time.  On  shore  I 
invariably  seek  the  society  of  ladies.  But  even  then  one's 
friendships  are  but  fleeting.  Don't  think  I  mean  idle 
flirtations  —  I  would  rather  be  the  humble  servitor  of 
a  good  woman  —  I  would  infinitely  prefer  to  be  re- 
garded as  your  —  your  Woolly  Horse,  in  fact,  as  Mrs. 
Landry  says  —  than  be  the  —  than  have  the  —  "  He 
floundered  for  a  moment  and  then  went  on  resolutely. 
"  You  aroused  my  deepest  admiration  the  first  moment 
I  had  the  honour  of  meeting  you.  I  have  always  appreci- 
ated, I  may  even  say  worshipped,  feminine  beauty, 
and  in  you,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  I  found  my  ideal.  I 
would  love  you  for  your  divine  beauty  if  you  were  de- 
void of  intelligence,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  your  noble 
character  would  win  my  devotion  and  hold  my  affection 
forever  if  you  were  —  were,  in  fact,  plain." 

Florence  hardly  knew  what  to  say.  Hammy  had  given 
her  no  chance  to  evade  the  evidently  impending  avowal. 
She  could  not  refuse  to  listen  now  without  cruelly  em- 
barrassing him,  or  hurting  his  feelings. 

"Dear  Mr.  Todd,"  she  said  weakly,  "I'm  so  sorry." 

"  I  love  you,"  said  Hammy.  He  tried  to  lift  the  coffee 

cup,  but  his  hand  trembled  so  violently  that  he  had  to 

put  it  down  again.    "  Would  you,  I  mean  I  desire  to 

ask  you  — " 

[178] 


IN  "PORTUGEE  TOWN" 

Florence  read  the  question  in  his  eyes  and  answered 
it  silently,  sadly,  by  a  shake  of  the  head.  She  hoped  to 
save  him  from  saying  more. 

Two  large  tears  rolled  down  Hammy's  face.  He  wiped 
them  away  unaffectedly  with  his  handkerchief.  "I 
knew  you  would  not  accept  me,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  he 
said,  "but  I  implore  you,  don't  allow  my  imprudence 
to  create  any  difference  in  our  friendship.  I  value  that 
dearer  than  my  life." 

"  Nothing  could  ever  change  my  friendship  for  you, 
Mr.  Todd." 

"I  know,"  he  went  on,  recovering  himself  with  an 
effort,  "  that  my  duty  is  to  retire  at  once  and  never  ob- 
trude my  presence  again.  But  our  parting  is  imminent 
enough  as  it  is.  I  will  endure  many  a  night  on  duty,  pac- 
ing the  quarter-deck  and  remembering  every  line  of 
your  face.  I  tell  you,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  the  sensation 
is  awe-inspiring  to  be  alone  in  the  universe  on  the  wide 
expanse  of  ocean  with  only  the  firmament  and  your 
thoughts  for  company.  And  the  memory  of  your  per- 
sonality will  dwell  with  me  for  the  remainder  of  my 
existence." 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Florence,  "  I  mean,  I  hope  — " 

"Allow  me  to  resume  my  usual  standing  with  you," 
Hammy  interrupted.  "Efface  from  your  mind  what  I 
have  uttered  to-dav.  I  will  never  offend  again.  I  shall 
[179] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

live  so  many  years  of  life  remote  from  your  presence 
that  I  implore  you  to  let  me  have  these  last  few  weeks 
of  your  society  unchanged." 

"Dear  Mr.  Todd,"  she  said,  "I  haven't  so  many 
friends  that  I  can  afford  to  lose  one.  You  have  been 
so  good  to  me  that  it  grieves  me  to  the  heart  to  cause 
you  a  moment's  unhappiness.  I  have  been  lonely,  too, 
in  my  life,  and  I  understand  a  little  of  what  you  feel." 

"  But  you  have  never  been  in  love  ?  " 

"Never!"  cried  Florence.  But  the  moment  she  said 
the  words  she  knew.  The  knowledge  came  to  her  with  a 
shock  that  almost  stopped  her  heart  from  beating.  She 
loved  Max.  At  that  moment  she  realized  that  she  had 
always  loved  him  from  the  first  moment  when  fate  had 
thrown  her  into  his  arms.  He  was  her  man;  her  other 
self,  the  love  of  her  heart.  She  leaned  across  the  table 
impulsively  laying  her  white  fingers  on  Hammy's 
clasped  hands. 

"  Oh,  my  boy ! "  she  said.  "  My  poor  boy,  I'm  awfully 
sorry  for  you ! " 


[180] 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN 
The  Ring 

FLORENCE  parted  from  Hammy  at  the  garden 
gate  and  ran  into  the  house.    Her  first  idea  was 
to  ring  up  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  and  tell  him 
—  she  hardly  knew  what,  but  in  some  way  she  hoped 
to  keep  him  away;  to  get  him  off  her  mind  and  con- 
science. She  found  the  number  of  the  Royal  Livery 
Stables,  but  in  answer  to  her  question  a  voice  replied 
that  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  was  not  there. 

As  she  stood  by  the  telephone  for  a  moment,  unde- 
cided, Bella  came  into  the  room  with  a  pile  of  clean 
plates  to  put  away  on  the  shelves.  She  was  followed  by  a 
Chinaman  whom  Florence  recognized  as  her  friend 
of  the  hotel. 

"Why,  Lee,"  she  said,  "how  are  you?  You  haven't 
forgotten  me,  have  you  ?  " 

"  No,  Miss  Flo' nee,  I  no  forget  you.  You  vella  well  ? 
Velly  nice  you  stop  here,  all  same  you  home,  Bella  tell 
me." 

[181] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

The  young  girl  smiled  as  she  thought  of  the  confi- 
dences between  these  two  and  wondered  how  they  un- 
derstood each  other. 

"  Miss  Flo'nce,"  said  Lee, "  I  like  talk  you.  I  look  out 
you  come  hotel  see  Missy  Bonna,  I  no  get  chance." 

"Well,"  she  said,  somewhat  surprised,"what  is  it,Lee?" 

"  I  all  same  your  father.  I  look  young  boy.  Oh,  no, 
me  old  man." 

"Really?"  said  Florence,  wondering  what  he  was 
driving  at.  His  face  was  serious.  Bella  stood  by,  open- 
mouthed,  hugging  the  pile  of  plates  against  her  breast, 
steadying  them  with  her  chin. 

"  Miss  Flo'nce,  I  tell  you,  Honolulu  too  much  talk. 
You  wella  young  gell.  You  velly  pretty  —  Melican  fash- 
ion," he  added,  with  discrimination.  "I  see  you  take 
lide  along  Captain  Leigh-Gallett.  I  no  like.  Now,  he 
come  see  you  last  night." 

Florence  gave  a  startled  glance  at  the  Portuguese 
woman. 

"  Me  no  tell,"  Bella  cried  anxiously,  wagging  her  head 
over  top  of  the  plates.  "  Lee  see  you.  We  go  dance  last 
night  Portugee  town,  come  home  late,  see  Captain 
Leigh-Gatta  go  out  a  gate." 

"  He  no  good,  Miss  Flo'nce,"  said  Lee.  "  He  velly  bad 
man.  I  see  him  plenty  time  stop  long  hotel.  He  dlink,  he 
talk,  he  too  much  dlink,  he  too  much  talk." 
[182] 


THE  RING 

For  a  moment  Florence  looked  indignantly  at  Lee, 
but  the  man's  expression  was  deeply  anxious.  He  was 
evidently  trying  to  warn  her  in  all  good  faith,  and  had 
no  idea  that  his  attitude  was  in  any  way  impertinent. 
"  I  all  same  your  father,"  he  repeated  deprecatingly. 

"  He,  he  —  you  don't  mean  to  say  that  he  has  talked 
about  me?" 

"No,"  said  Lee,  "nobody  talk.  Me  talk.  I  tell  you 
true,  Miss  Flo'nce.  By  and  by  he  talk.  I  savvy,  too 
much.  I  tell  you,  look  out.  I  see  him  last  night,  I  too 
much  flaid." 

"He  will  not  come  again,  Lee,"  said  Florence  with 
determination. 

"All  right!"  cried  Lee.  "That  finish.  I  no  talk.  By 
and  by  dead  I  no  talk.  Bella,"  he  turned  to  the  Portu- 
guese girl  so  suddenly  and  sternly  that  the  plates  rattled 
in  her  arms,  "  you  talk  one  word  I  kill  you ! " 

Florence  turned  to  go,  with  a  horrible  humiliating 
sensation  of  embarrassment  in  the  presence  of  these  peo- 
ple. Her  heart  swelled  with  indignation  against  the 
cause  of  it  all. 

"  You  come  down  hotel  soon  ?  "  Lee  asked.  "  Missy 
Worling  velly  sick.  All  lone.  No  got  any  flens." 

"Is  there  anything  I  can  do,  Lee?"  asked  Florence 
reluctantly. 

"  I  don't  know.  She  velly  sick."  He  put  his  hand  to  his 
[183] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

chest  and  coughed  feebly  in  imitation.  "By  and  by  I 
think  she  die.  I  wish  that  ship  hully  up.  Her  husband 
come  I  think  she  get  well.  You  velly  kind  lady,  you 
come  see  Missy  Worling." 

"I  will,"  said  Florence,  escaping  through  the  hall. 
She  reached  the  front  veranda  just  in  time  to  see  Mrs. 
Landry  stepping  airily  out  of  a  carriage.  The  widow 
came  up  the  steps  looking  very  smart  and  cool,  and 
well  dressed  as  usual. 

"  Here  you  are ! "  she  cried.  "  I've  come  on  an  errand 
and  it  is  a  very  pleasant  one." 

Florence  showed  her  into  the  bower. 

"  Oh,  the  darling  little  idol !  Has  it  brought  you  good 
luck  ?  You  don't  look  as  though  it  had.  What  is  the  mat- 
ter with  you,  you  are  as  pale  as  a  sheet  ?  " 

"  I  went  for  a  walk,"  said  Florence,  "  and  I'm  rather 
tired." 

"Walk!"  cried  the  widow,  "in  this  heat!  You  must 
be  fond  of  exercise!  I  have  been  at  home  all  day  with 
the  blinds  drawn  and  the  veranda  sprinkled.  I  rang  you 
up  some  time  ago  and  could  get  no  answer,  so  I  sent  for 
an  express  and  came  myself.  My  message  is  from 
Christopher  Maxwell." 

To  Florence's  dismay  and  annoyance  she  found  her- 
self blushing  under  the  widow's  steady  gaze. 

"  Ah,  ha ! "  said  Mrs.  Landry,  shaking  a  finger  at  her, 
[184] 


THE  RING 

"  so  he  is  turning  your  head,  is  he,  after  all  I've  said  to 
you  ?  My  dear,  I'm  going  to  give  you  a  little  advice." 

Florence  laughed  somewhat  hysterically.  "Please 
don't,"  she  said,  "  I've  already  had  a  great  deal  and  I 
don't  think  I  can  stand  any  more  just  at  present." 

"I  was  not  going  to  advise  you  against  him,  but 
against  yourself.  Don't  attach  too  much  importance  to 
what  he  says." 

"Your  solicitude  is  flattering,  Mrs.  Landry,"  said  the 
young  girl  coldly,  more  angry  than  she  would  admit. 

"You  need  not  be  sarcastic.  Your  cheeks  are  red  as 
fire.  However,  he  sent  you  a  message.  The  King  is  giv- 
ing a  surf-party  at  his  Waikiki  place  Monday  night,  and 
if  you  care  to  come  Max  says  he  will  send  his  carriage 
for  you  at  eight." 

It  was  the  affair  the  King  was  getting  up  for  Florence, 
and  she  noticed  the  lukewarm  flavour  the  widow  gave 
the  invitation. 

"It  is  moonlight  now,  you  know,"  continued  Mrs. 
Landry,  "and  that's  why  it  was  arranged  in  such  a 
hurry.  We  must  make  the  most  of  it." 

"  I  wonder  Mr.  Maxwell  did  not  telephone  to  me  him- 
self," said  Florence,  a  little  jealously. 

"  He  did,  but  could  get  no  answer.  Then  he  rang  me 
up.  There's  some  business  he  had  to  look  after  at  one 
of  his  plantations.  He  leaves  this  afternoon  and  won't 
[185] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

be  back  till  Monday.  Go  and  telephone  now  that  you 
accept,  and  I'll  stay  and  make  love  to  the  idol." 

"I  hope  it's  not  too  late,"  said  Christopher  Max- 
well's voice  over  the  wire,  "  but  we  arranged  it  all  last 
night  in  a  hurry,  for  if  we  let  this  week  go  by  we'll  have 
to  wait  another  month  for  moonlight.  If  you  have  any 
other  engagement  put  it  off." 

"  I  haven't,"  said  Florence. 

"That's  all  right  then." 

"  Will  there  be  many  people  ?  " 

"No,  only  our  little  crowd.  I'm  awfully  sorry  I 
couldn't  come  in  and  talk  it  over  with  you,  but  I  have 
to  ride  over  the  Pali  about  some  tiresome  sugar  business. 
See  you  Monday.  Good-bye." 

"  Good-bye,"  said  Florence.  She  stood  for  a  moment 
holding  the  receiver  that  had  carried  his  voice.  Then, 
with  a  sudden  impulse  she  touched  it  with  her  lips,  her 
eyes  filling  with  sudden  tears.  The  sound  had  changed 
the  whole  world  to  her  and  a  sudden  gladness  filled  her 
heart.  She  glanced  out  through  the  open  doorway  to 
see  Lee  and  Bella  sitting  side  by  side  on  the  cook-house 
steps  in  deep  and  confidential  conversation.  Coming 
back  to  the  bower,  with  a  flush  on  her  cheek  and  a  ten- 
der light  in  her  eyes  she  found  the  widow  standing  very 
straight  and  angry,  holding  a  small  object  in  her  hand. 

"  I  found  this  in  front  of  the  idol,"  she  said. 
[186] 


THE  RING 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Florence  pleasantly. 

"  It  is  Dick  Leigh-Garrett's  ring,"  Mrs.  Landry  an- 
swered in  a  harsh  voice  Florence  hardly  recognized. 
"  With  the  seal  of  his  regiment  on  it.  I  know  the  history 
of  that  ring  and  I  know  that  it  has  never  left  his  hand 
before.  How  came  it  here  ?  " 

Lee  passed  by  beneath  the  balcony. 

"  Good-bye  Miss  Flo'nce,"  he  called  out. 

"  Good-bye,  Lee,"  she  answered,  and  as  she  watched 
his  white-robed  figure  disappear  among  the  trees  she 
thought  quickly.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  lie,  and 
Florence  hated  Dick  Leigh-Garrett  with  a  rising  burst 
of  anger  that  he  should  have  forced  her  to  such  an  ex- 
tremity. 

"  That  stone  was  found  in  India,"  went  on  Mrs.  Lan- 
dry. "  On  a  battle-field  —  by  Dick's  uncle,  Sir  Lionel. 
He  had  lain  all  night  wounded  and  when  he  was  carried 
off  the  ground  he  picked  up  a  stone  to  keep  as  a  me- 
mento. It  wasn't  till  he  took  it  years  after  to  have  the 
arms  of  his  regiment  engraved  on  it  that  they  found  it 
was  a  flawless  blood-stone.  Dick  loves  that  ring  as  he 
loves  his  regiment.  Why  did  he  leave  it  in  your  room  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  know  it  was  there,"  said  Florence  steadily. 
"  He  called  the  other  day  and  said  something  about  an 
offering  to  Ko  Ung." 

A  curious  glance  of  suspicion  shot  from  the  widow's 
[187] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

yellow  eyes.  A  leaden  colour  began  to  show  beneath  the 
pearl  powder,  and  a  tiny  network  of  lines  gathered  about 
her  mouth. 

"  I  dined  with  Dick  last  night,"  she  said.  "  He  was  at 
my  house  till  late  —  it  must  have  been  eleven  when  he 
left  —  and  he  had  this  ring  on  then." 

Florence  stood  silent,  the  colour  coming  and  going  in 
her  cheeks;  biting  her  lips  to  control  the  sensitive  nerves 
of  her  face;  the  resentment  that  filled  her  heart  bracing 
her  to  meet  the  widow's  fierce  attack  with  a  bold  front. 

Bella  had  come  into  the  bedroom  and  was  paying 
alert  attention  to  the  conversation.  She  appeared  at  the 
door,  dust  brush  in  hand. 

"Captain  Leigh-Gat  come  here  to-day,"  she  said, 
"  when  you  go  out,  Miss  Florence  —  he  say  he  make 
lil  present  Ko  Ung." 

Mrs.  Landry  wheeled  about  and  stared  at  the  Portu- 
guese girl  for  a  full  minute.  Bella  gazed  innocently  back, 
with  round  eyes  open  wide.  The  widow  laid  the  ring 
down  and  drew  a  deep  breath. 

"What  an  idiot  I  am!"  she  said,  sinking  back  into 
the  rocking-chair  while  Bella  vanished  within  the  bed- 
room. "Forgive  me,  my  dear  girl,  but  I'm  a  perfect 
fool  about  that  man.  I  know  he's  a  bad  lot.  I've  caught 
him  out  in  fifty  lies."  She  rolled  her  handkerchief  into  a 
little  ball  and  carefully  dabbed  her  eyes.  "  Oh,  I  know 
[188] 


THE  RING 

him  through  and  through !  But  I  can't  help  being  a  fool 
—  a  silly,  idiotic  fool  about  him ! " 

Florence  drew  out  a  wicker  chair  and  sat  down,  com- 
posedly, though  her  hands  trembled  as  she  clasped  them 
tightly  in  her  lap. 

"All  the  same,"  said  Mrs.  Landry,  "I  don't  see  yet 
why  Dick  left  that  ring  here.  He's  up  to  mischief  and  I 
advise  you  — " 

"  You  need  advice  yourself,  Mrs.  Landry,"  said  Flor- 
ence hastily. 

"Do  you  think  I  don't  know  it?  Do  you  think  I'm 
proud  of  myself  ?  In  this  life  you  go  along  like  a  blind 
puppy  and  knock  your  head  against  a  post;  if  you  are 
good-hearted,  you  stand  by  and  warn  the  others  coming 
after  you  to  be  careful.  Do  you  think  they  heed  you  ? 
You  may  scream  yourself  hoarse !  No,  everybody  has  to 
get  a  good  crack  on  their  own  skulls  before  they  will 
listen  to  reason.  I  know  perfectly  well  what  is  good  for 
me." 

"Then,  why  don't  you  take  your  courage  in  both 
hands  and  do  it  ?  " 

"I  cannot,  I  cannot.  It  means  giving  up  Dick  and 
that  is  beyond  me." 

"I  don't  understand  you  very  well,  Mrs.  Landry," 
said  Florence.  "You  spoke  of  some  one  else  just 
now  — " 

[189] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  You  mean  Max !  That  is  a  very  different  story.  My 
dear,  that  man  has  eleven  millions.  I  am  an  extravagant 
woman  and  I'm  living  on  my  capital.  It's  not  going  to 
last  very  long  and  then  where'll  I  be  ?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  plainly  and  vulgarly  that  you  want  to 
many  Mr.  Maxwell  for  his  money  ?  " 

"  But  I  like  him,  my  dear,  I  like  him !  It  is  only  such  a 
frivolous  woman  as  I  am  who  can  really  appreciate  a 
serious  and  earnest  man.  This  town  is  full  of  dancing, 
flirting  *  Woolly  Horses,'  and  he's  the  only  man  in  the 
place." 

"  Rich  or  poor  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"No,  rich.  I  wouldn't  admire  him  if  he  were  poor. 
But  you  don't  understand  me.  I  admire  his  riches  be- 
cause they  show  his  ability.  I  am  a  true  American  in  my 
appreciation  of  a  self-made  man.  That's  the  only  kind 
of  a  man  that's  worth  anything.  Christopher  Maxwell 
came  back  from  college  when  his  father  died  and  found 
his  affairs  in  a  hopeless  tangle.  He  was  little  more  than  a 
boy  when  he  took  hold,  and  see  where  he  is  to-day.  The 
banks,  the  shipping,  the  street-cars,  the  parks,  the  plan- 
tations, he's  at  the  head  of  every  great  enterprise  here. 
I  love  his  wealth  —  it's  like  the  wreath  of  laurel  on  the 
brow  of  a  hero."  She  laughed  suddenly;  "and  I  want 
some  of  the  leaves!  Don't  take  me  seriously,  my  dear. 
Men  say  how  difficult  it  is  to  understand  women.  Do . 
[190] 


THE  RING 

you  know  why  it  is  so  hard  ?  Because  they  don't  under- 
stand themselves !  We're  like  the  dog  that  ate  his  tag  — 
we  don't  know  where  we're  going ! " 

"You've  made  me  very  unhappy  and  very  uncom- 
fortable," said  Florence.  "And  I  cannot  believe  that 
you  were  in  earnest  in  half  you've  said  to-day." 

"  I  wasn't,"  said  the  widow,  rising  and  pulling  up  her 
silk  gloves.  "At  least  I  don't  know  myself  how  I  feel 
about  Christopher  Maxwell;  but  with  the  other  man 
I'm  really  serious.  It  isn't  jealousy  on  my  part,  honestly, 
I'm  talking  for  your  own  good.  Give  him  back  his  ring 
and  keep  clear  of  Dick  Leigh-Garrett.  It  takes  a  woman 
of  experience  to  manage  him.  He  is  not  for  the  young 
person."  She  turned  at  the  door  and  sang,  saucily: 

**  'He's  not  a  marrying  man,  my  dear; 
He  lives  <m  a  different  plan,  my  dear, 
Keep  out  of  his  way  if  you  can,  my  dear, 
He  isn't  a  marrying  man  I ' ' 


[191] 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN 

The  Magic  Carpet 

THE  telephone  bell  waked  the  family  early  on 
Sunday  morning,  announcing  the  arrival  of  the 
Suez;  Emma   and  Lulu  walked  down   after 
breakfast  to  get  the  letters;  the  half- white  girl  with  an 
eye  for  fashions  brought  by  the  passengers,  and  Lulu 
to  glean  any  trifle  in  the  way  of  gossip  that  might  be 
floating  about. 

Florence  was  ashamed  to  thank  Bella  in  words  for 
coming  so  gallantly  to  the  rescue,  but  a  silk  shawl  of 
vivid  aniline  tint,  and  a  pat  on  the  shoulder  needed  no 
interpretation.  Bella  was  speechless  with  joy,  and  ac- 
cepted the  gift,  to  Florence's  embarrassment,  with  the 
air  of  one  receiving  well-merited  reward.  With  the  true 
instinct  of  a  Portuguese  duenna  she  dearly  loved  an  in- 
trigue, and  now  considered  herself  to  be  in  the  thick  of 
a  most  exciting  affair.  On  ordinary  occasions  she  en- 
veloped the  most  casual  message,  the  most  innocent 
letter  with  an  atmosphere  of  mystery.  She  would  report 
[192] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

the  call  of  a  sewing-machine  agent  with  nods  and  becks 
and  confidential  winks,  and  Hammy  could  not  pay  a 
visit  to  the  bower  without  Bella  slipping  in  ahead  to 
announce  his  arrival  in  a  melodramatic  whisper. 

She  had  told  the  truth  in  saying  that  Captain  Leigh- 
Garrett  had  called  while  Florence  was  away,  though  the 
remark  about  the  ring  was  pure  inspiration.  It  was  long 
before  Florence  could  understand,  from  Bella's  hints 
and  innuendos,  that  Dick  had  left  the  silver  incense 
burner,  wrapped  in  a  tissue-paper  parcel,  to  be  delivered 
into  Florence's  own  hands.  Her  first  idea  was  to  refuse 
it  peremptorily,  but  the  Portuguese  girl  aggravated  her 
into  saying,  in  her  most  matter-of-fact  voice : 

"  Oh,  it's  nothing  but  an  old  box  for  Ko  Ung.  Put  it 
in  front  of  the  idol,  Bella. " 

"Everybody  see  him!" 

"  Well,  let  them.  Go  back  to  your  work,  like  a  good 
girl,  and  don't  bother. " 

While  Emma  and  Lulu  were  down  for  the  mail,  Flor- 
ence was  too  restless  to  sit  still.  She  wondered  how  her 
father  and  her  friends  would  take  the  news  of  her  broken 
engagement.  She  was  a  little  ashamed  of  herself  for 
thinking  so  little  of  them  in  this  last  absorbing  month. 
But  now,  mail  day,  and  the  prospect  of  letters  filled  her 
with  uneasiness.  She  walked  out  into  the  garden.  Mana 
and  Vida,  free  from  restraint,  were  playing  circus  with 
[193] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

all  the  force  of  their  lungs,  shouting,  leaping,  turning 
hand-springs,  jumping  from  the  veranda  railing  to  the 
grass,  doing  audience  and  performers  combined.  She 
looked  on  at  the  feats  of  strength  and  agility,  and  though 
her  heart  occasionally  turned  over  with  alarm  at  their 
narrow  escapes  and  foolhardy  attempts,  she  did  not 
utter  a  word  of  protest. 

Wandering  on  she  found  Mrs.  Ross  seated  on  a  camp- 
stool  out  in  the  brightest  patch  of  sunlight  in  the  garden, 
with  a  towel  over  her  shoulders  and  her  grey  hair  spread 
out  in  a  curly  mop  to  dry.  She  had  been  washing  it 
in  lemons. 

"  Getting  anxious  about  your  letters  ?  "  she  asked  as 
Florence  threw  herself  on  the  warm  grass  beside  her. 
"  I  always  do,  and  washing  my  hair  distracts  my  mind. 
When  I  am  waiting  I  always  fill  up  the  time  with  some 
kind  of  work. 

"  I  do  feel  nervous, "  said  Florence. 

"  I  know, "  said  Mrs.  Ross.  Her  face  was  shrouded  in 
a  mass  of  silvery  curls,  but  she  parted  a  lock  to  give 
Florence  a  beaming  look  of  affection.  "  Though  I'm  sure 
it  will  be  all  right!  I  get  worried  every  mail  day  about 
William.  So  many  things  can  happen  in  a  month;  it's 
lucky  one  doesn't  worry  all  the  time.  I  only  begin  to  get 
anxious  when  the  Suez  is  sighted. 

"Here  they  come!"  screamed  Vida  and  Mana,  racing 
[194] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

down  the  driveway  and  escorting  Emma  and  Lulu  up 
the  garden  walk,  with  a  fine  imitation  of  royal  cavalry. 

"  There's  a  letter  from  William, "  Emma  called  out. 

"  And  none  for  you,  Miss  Florence, "  screamed  Lulu, 
with  a  ring  of  triumph  in  her  voice  —  not  from  malice, 
but  mere  joy  in  the  fact  that  she  was  giving  a  startling 
piece  of  intelligence.  Florence  stared  blankly.  Mrs<  Ross 
snatched  her  letter  and  read  it  hastily,  throwing  out  bits 
of  information  to  the  surrounding  audience. 

"  He  says  it's  snowing  in  New  York  —  think  of  snow 
in  April!  No,  the  letter's  dated  March  15th.  He  can't 
come  home  this  time  before  Christmas.  Encloses  a 
check.  Well,  he  is  a  good  boy.  Oh !  he's  had  his  photo- 
graph taken.  I  wish  he'd  sent  one.  He  will  when  he  gets 
the  prints.  Love  to  Emma,  and  Lulu,  and  everybody. 
Oh,  my  dear, "  she  went  on,  as  though  it  were  part  of 
William's  letter,  "  and  there's  no  mail  for  you. " 

There  was  a  scream  from  Lulu.  "  Vida,  you  jumped 
on  the  flower  beds !  I  see  your  footprints ! " 

"We  didn't  hurt  anything!" 

"  Well,  you  might  have !  Hurry  up !  We're  awfully  late 
for  Sunday-school.  You  should  have  gone  on  without 
me." 

"We're  not  going  to-day, "  said  Mana.  "The  Queen 
telephoned  that  she  would  send  her  carriage  to  take  us 
for  a  drive. " 

[195] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Then  why  aren't  you  dressed?"  Lulu  always  had 
the  last  word.  "  Go  and  get  Bella  to  help  you.  I'm  in  a 
hurry." 

"  Mrs.  Ross, "  said  Florence,  still  sitting  stricken  on 
the  grass.  "  What  shall  I  do  ?  I'm  frightened  at  not  get- 
ting a  letter  from  anybody. " 

"  Perhaps  they  missed  the  mail.  I  know  once  the  trains 
were  snowbound,  and  William's  letter  arrived  too  late  to 
catch  the  steamer.  I  had  to  wait  over  another  month  for 
news,  and  I  was  frightened  to  death.  " 

"But  my  people  live  in  San  Francisco.  The  letters 
don't  have  to  cross  the  Continent  —  " 

"  They  may  have  missed  the  steamer. " 

"  Not  all  of  them  —  I  should  get  at  least  one.  I  ought 
to  go  home.  Perhaps  they  are  angry  with  me. " 

"  My  dear  Florence, "  said  Mrs.  Ross,  taking  her  hair 
by  the  ends  and  shaking  it  in  the  sunlight  to  dry.  "  All 
the  more  reason  for  not  going  home.  Stay  right  on  here 
till  they  get  good-natured  again.  " 

"But,  Mrs.  Ross,"  Florence  stammered  a  little,  "I 
— I  haven't  any  more  money.  I  was  sure  my  father  would 
send  me  that  check  for  a  thousand  dollars.  He  forgot 
about  it  at  the  la^t  moment,  and  gave  me  some  money 
for  my  trip  and  said  he'd  send  the  check  by  the  next 
mail.  There  was  no  hurry  —  I  didn't  think  I'd  need  it  at 
all  —  and  now  —  " 

[196] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

"  My  dearest  girl, "  said  Mrs.  Ross,  "  if  you  are  wor- 
rying about  the  expense  of  living  here,  put  it  out  of  your 
head.  If  your  father  sends  the  money  next  mail  well  and 
good,  if  he  does  not,  never  mind.  I  am  glad  to  have  you 
with  me  for  just  as  long  as  you  want  to  stay. " 

The  young  girl  caught  Mrs.  Ross's  plump  little  hand, 
damp,  and  smelling  of  lemons,  and  kissed  it  gratefully. 

"  You  are  so  good, "  she  said,  "  but  I'm  not  going  to 
be  a  burden  on  you.  I  know  it's  hard  enough  as  it  is  for 
you  to  make  both  ends  meet. " 

"  You  are  as  dear  to  me  as  my  own  daughter, "  said 
the  voice  under  the  grey  mop. 

"  I  feel  like  one  of  the  family,  Mrs.  Ross,  but  really 
it's  because  I  like  you  and  am  enjoying  myself  so  much 
here  that  I  want  to  stay  on,  and  because  I  have  felt 
ashamed  to  go  back  with  my  explanations.  But  now  I 
feel  as  though  it  were  my  duty  to  return  at  once  —  " 

They  were  diverted  from  their  conversation  by  the  ar- 
rival of  a  very  Jiandsome  barouche,  with  footman  and 
coachman,  drawn  by  a  span  of  fine  horses. 

"  It's  the  Queen's  carriage, "  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "  I  won- 
der why  it  is,"  she  added  fretfully,  "that  these  stylish 
teams  always  paw  up  the  gravel  so  much  more  than  liv- 
ery stable  horses  ?  " 

Vida  and  Mana  came  skipping  excitedly  toward 
them.  "  Won't  you  come  with  us,  Miss  Florence  ?  "  Mana 
[197] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

asked.  "  Lulu  generally  goes,  but  she  went  off  to  Sunday- 
school." 

"  I  don't  feel  very  muph  like  it,  dear  Mana. " 

"  Go  along, "  said  Mrs.  Ross  decisively.  "  You're  tired 
and  worried,  and  a  drive  in  the  open  air  will  do  you  all 
the  good  in  the  world.  When  you  get  back  we'll  talk 
things  over  seriously. " 

"We  were  looking  forward  to  your  coming,"  said 
Vida.  Florence  jumped  up,  kissed  them  both,  and  went 
for  her  hat  and  gloves.  The  two  Princes  exchanged  a 
solemn  glance  of  gratification. 

The  young  girl  sat  in  the  back  seat  between  the  two 
boys  as  the  carriage  bowled  down  the  wide  street.  It 
was  a  warm,  fragrant  Honolulu  morning;  though 
the  church  bells  were  ringing  the  streets  looked  busy,  for 
it  was  mail  day.  There  had  been  light  showers  during 
the  night,  which  gave  the  trees,  dotted  over  with  white 
and  scarlet  blossoms,  the  grass  and  hedges  a  freshly- 
washed  look  and  laid  the  dust  in  the  roads. 

"  Let's  talk  about  railway  trains, "  said  Vida. 

"  No, "  said  Mana,  "  I  like  the  little  rooms  that  go  up 
and  down.  It  must  be  funny  to  walk  into  a  little  room,  shut 
the  door,  and  then  have  it  go  up  in  the  air,  with  you  in  it. " 

"  Like  the  magic  carpet, "  said  Vida.  The  boys  had  lis- 
tened to  Florence's  tales  of  civilization,  and  mixed  them 
up  somewhat  with  her  equally  entertaining  fairy  stories. 
[198] 


THE  MAGIC   CARPET 

"If  we  had  a  magic  carpet,"  said  Mana  invitingly, 
"  where  would  we  go  ?  " 

"We  are  on  the  carpet  now, "  said  Florence,  in  that 
matter-of-fact  style  that  enchanted  her  listeners  and  gave 
an  air  of  reality  to  her  wildest  statement.  She  cast 
aside  her  troubles  and  turned  her  attention  to  entertain- 
ing her  two  friends.  "Don't  you  remember,"  she 
went  on, "  how  tired  we  were  this  morning,  when  we 
lived  in  a  big,  ugly,  dark  town  called  London  ?  There 
was  a  fog  over  the  place,  making  it  like  night,  so  that 
the  lamps  had  to  be  lighted.  You  are  two  little  boys 
who  sell  matches  in  the  street,  and  I  am  a  flower- 
girl.  Ah,  weren't  we  unhappy  this  morning  ?  " 

"  I  felt  so  cold  and  wet, "  said  Mana,  who  had  a  lively 
imagination. 

"  Nobody  would  buy  my  matches, "  said  Vida,  "  and 
we  hadn't  anything  to  eat  all  day.  " 

"  We  lay  down  under  a  tree  to  rest, "  Mana  went  on. 

"  That  was  in  the  park, "  said  Florence. 

"  In  the  park,  of  course.  The  bears  and  lions  roared  at 
us.  You  know  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  has  the  skins  of 
lions  and  bears,  and  we  asked  him  where  they  came  from 
and  he  said  he  caught  them  in  the  streets  of  London. " 

"  Then  I  came  along  and  found  you  lying  on  the  grass. 
You  called  me  Flossie  because  we  were  old  friends.  I 
only  had  rags  on  and  my  flowers  were  all  wilted.  " 

[199] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  How  did  we  get  here  ?  "  asked  Vida. 

"Don't  you  remember,"  cried  Mana  excitedly.  He 
loved  this  game  which  Florence  had  taught  them  of 
make-believe.  "  It  was  that  old  piece  of  carpet  the  beg- 
gar man  put  over  you.  All  you  had  in  the  world  to  eat 
was  a  slice  of  pineapple,  and  you  gave  it  to  him  for  his 
supper,  and  that's  why  he  put  the  carpet  over  you  to 
keep  you  warm. " 

"Yes,  I  remember,"  said  Vida.  "We  were  sleeping 
in  a  barrel. " 

"  And  you  always  kept  the  old  piece  of  carpet, "  said 
Florence,  "  and  carried  it  about  with  you,  but  you  did 
not  know  it  was  a  magic  one  that  gave  you  every  wish 
you  made  when  you  were  sitting  on  it.  We  spread  it  out 
under  the  trees  to  protect  us  from  the  wet  and  damp. " 

"  Then  you  said, "  interrupted  Mana  rapturously, "  'I 
wish  we  had  something  to  eat,  I  am  hungry,'  and  right 
there,  out  of  the  ground,  came  a  beautiful  party,  with 
cake  and  ice-cream. " 

"Then  Vida  wished  a  wish,"  said  Florence.  "What 
was  it?" 

"I  — I—  "  Vida  hesitated.  "Oh,  yes.  I  wished  we 
had  some  good  clothes,  and  suddenly  we  found  ourselves 
beautifully  dressed  in  white  duck,  with  straw  hats  and 
coloured  handkerchiefs,  and  your  poor  old  rags  "  —  his 
glance  travelled  over  Florence  with  approval — "  changed 
[200] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

into  a  lovely  yellow  linen,  and  the  old  bonnet  turned 
into  a  sweet  little  hat  trimmed  with  blue  flowers,  and 
your  bare  feet  had  high-heeled  shoes,  with  real  gold 
buckles." 

"  Then  /  wished, "  said  Florence.  "  I  said  —  don't  you 
remember  ?  *  These  clothes  are  so  light  and  thin  that  I'm 
cold.  I  wish  we  were  in  the  most  beautiful  country  in  the 
world,  where  the  sun  is  always  shining,  and  the  skies  are 
always  blue;  where  the  people  are  kind  and  handsome, 
and  the  ruler  is  a  happy  king  who  never  goes  to  war,  or 
does  cruel,  unjust  things.  *  * 

"  And  then  the  carpet  rose  up  into  the  air, "  said  Mana, 
"  and  flew  and  flew. " 

"  And  here  we  are ! "  said  Vida. 

While  they  were  talking  the  two  Princes  often  stopped 
to  lift  their  hats  in  response  to  numerous  salutations 
from  the  passing  native  people.  The  boys  were  punc- 
tilious in  responding  to  the  most  humble  recognition.  A 
row  of  bare-footed  native  girls  sat  in  the  shadow  of  a 
wall  on  the  narrow  pavement,  stringing  flowers.  One  of 
them  ran  forward  and  tossed  a  couple  of  wreaths  into 
the  carriage.  Mana  and  Vida,  after  politely  offering 
them  to  Florence,  put  them  about  their  own  necks  com- 
placently. 

"  What  a  lovely  perfume, "  said  Florence. 

"  They  look  like  ropes  of  gold, "  remarked  Mana. 
[201] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  I  wish  you  always  lived  with  us, "  said  Vida.  "  It  has 
been  so  happy  at  home  since  you  came.  " 

"  Suppose, "  Mana  was  struck  with  a  sudden  bright 
idea,  "suppose  you  marry  somebody  and  live  here 
always  ?  " 

"  Whom  shall  I  many  ?  " 

"  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  ?  "  suggested  Mana. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Vida.  "I  don't  like  him  at  all.  He 
makes  fun  of  us  and  calls  us  *  princelings/  and  laughs. 
He  is  always  laughing. " 

"  You  can't  have  Mr.  Maxwell, "  said  Mana. 

*  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"  Because  of  Mrs.  Landry ! "  he  said  in  a  tone  of  final- 
ity. "  Oh,  I  know !  Count  Tatsu !  He's  nice  and  always 
polite.  He  calls  us  '  Your  Highness. ' ' 

"But  he'd  take  me  to  Japan,"  objected  Florence, 
"  and  I  want  to  live  in  Honolulu.  Wouldn't  it  be  nice  if  I 
had  a  fine  house  here,  and  you  could  both  come  and 
stay  with  me,  and  when  you  go  to  the  coast  to  school 
you'd  come  back  every  year  and  spend  your  vacations 
at  my  house!" 

"  When  we  grow  up, "  said  Vida, "  will  you  marry  us  ?  " 

"  But  I  can't  have  two  husbands. " 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Mana. 

She  was  casting  about  for  a  suitable  explanation  of  the 
marriage  laws,  when  the  carriage,  to  her  surprise,  turned 
[202] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

into  the  palace  grounds,  the  soldiers  at  the  gate  present- 
ing arms  in  honour  of  the  Princes. 

"  Oh ! "  cried  Florence,  "  we  oughtn't  to  go  in  here. " 

"We  always  do,"  said  the  boys,  "just  to  pay  our  re- 
spects to  the  King. " 

"  But  I  don't  want  to  see  him !  Really,  you  should  have 
told  me!" 

It  was  too  late  to  turn  back.  They  drove  through 
gardens  laid  out  in  beds  of  flowers,  winding  paths 
bordered  by  shrubs  and  palms,  to  the  stone  steps  at  the 
side  entrance  of  the  palace.  The  King  was  breakfasting 
at  a  table  set  out  on  the  terrace,  surrounded  by  a  group 
of  retainers,  sitting  on  mats  at  a  respectful  distance.  He 
rose  at  the  sight  of  Florence,  and  came  down  the  steps, 
offering  his  hand  to  help  her  alight  from  the  carriage. 
He  looked  very  cool  and  fresh  in  white  flannels,  with 
a  rose  in  his  buttonhole. 

Mana  and  Vida  explained  the  young  girl's  presence  as 
they  all  walked  up  the  steps,  the  Princes  returning  the 
respectful  bows  of  the  retainers  by  wide  sweeps  of  their 
straw  hats. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  said  the 
King.  "  May  I  hope  that  you  will  have  a  cup  of  coffee 
with  me?" 

She  declined,  but  the  Princes  were  not  so  backward 
in  accepting  the  invitation  and  drew  up  their  chairs  to 
[203] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

the  table  with  alacrity.  Florence  felt  somewhat  embar- 
rassed at  first,  but  the  King's  informal  pleasant  manner 
soon  made  her  feel  at  ease,  especially  as  he  went  on  with 
his  breakfast  quite  simply,  after  giving  her  a  seat.  The 
meal  was  a  strange  one  for  breakfast.  A  small  baked 
sucking  pig,  roasted  breadfruit,  squid  and  a  calabash 
of  poi.  There  was  no  sign  of  the  coffee  the  King 
had  so  hospitably  offered ;  he  was  drinking  some  kind  of 
white  wine  in  a  tall  slim  glass. 

"  We  are  not  real  people,  at  all,  your  Majesty,"  said 
Mana. 

"  Aren't  you  ?  "  asked  the  King  seriously. "  It  is  strange 
how  my  eyes  deceive  me." 

"  No,  we  came  from  London  this  morning  on  a  piece 
of  magic  carpet." 

"  I  hope  you  had  a  pleasant  journey." 

"  We  did,"  said  Vida  joyously.  "  We  had  three  wishes. 
We  wanted  a — "  he  looked  about  the  table — "  a  banquet." 

"And  we  wished  to  come  to  a  country  that  was  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world  ruled  over  by  a  monarch, 
the  most  —  the  most  — " 

"  Contented  ?  "  said  the  King  laughing.  "  That's  me." 

"Yes,"  said  Mana,  "you  know  in  fairy-land  they  al- 
ways eat  a  banquet." 

"To  be  sure,"  said  the  King.  "And  what  was  your 
third  wish?" 

[204] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

Mana's  imagination  failed  him. 

"  You  did  not,  by  any  chance,"  suggested  Kalakaua, 
"  wish  for  a  box  of  soldiers,  did  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  yes!"  cried  Mana  and  Vida  in  one  voice. 
"  That  was  our  very  wish ! " 

"By  the  strangest  chance,"  said  the  King,  with  a 
smile  at  Florence,  "  two  boxes  of  soldiers  arrived  by  the 
Suez  this  very  morning ! " 

He  murmured  a  few  words  in  Hawaiian  and  one  of 
the  attendants,  bent  nearly  double  in  respectful  obei- 
sance, backed  out  a  side  door. 

The  Princes  deserted  the  banquet  promptly  on  the  ad- 
vent of  the  two  boxes ;  they  sat  on  the  floor  to  open  them, 
pulling  out  tissue  paper  and  excelsior  with  feverish  impa- 
tience. They  were  splendid  soldiers ;  some  on  horseback, 
some  running  with  fixed  bayonets ;  there  were  Zulus  with 
spears,  there  were  little  tents,  cannon,  and  even  a  clump  of 
cocoanut  trees.  The  Princes  were  in  ecstacies  of  delight. 

"Did  Mr.  Maxwell  speak  to  you  about  the  surf- 
party  ?  "  asked  the  King. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  Your  Majesty,  it's  so  good  of  you.  I'd 
rather  see  a  thing  like  that  than  the  finest  ball  that  ever 
was  given." 

"  But  you're  coming  to  the  ball,  too  ?  " 

"I'm  afraid,"  said  Florence,  "that  I  won't  be  able  to 
go.  I  am  leaving  on  this  steamer." 
[205] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

There  were  sudden  wails  from  the  Princes  on  the 
floor. 

"  Leave  Honolulu ! "  cried  Kalakaua,  with  almost  as 
much  dismay  as  the  boys.  "  I  hoped  you  were  going  to 
pay  us  a  long  visit." 

"  I  meant  to,  but  the  mail  came  in  to-day  — " 

"  No  bad  news,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  There  was  no  news,  Your  Majesty.  I  didn't  get  any 
letters  at  all!" 

"That's  strange,"  said  the  King.  "There  must  have 
been  some  mistake." 

"  I  don't  understand  it,"  said  Florence.  "  I  expected 
letters  from  some  girl-friends  and  my  aunts,  but  it  is  my 
father's  letter  — " 

"  But  that  should  not  necessitate  your  return  so  soon," 
said  the  King.  "  Forgive  me,  Miss  Van  Voorhis,  but  we 
all  take  a  great  interest  in  you  here,  and  you  have  made 
many  friends  in  Honolulu  who  would  be  sorry  indeed  to 
lose  you." 

The  tears  rose  to  Florence's  eyes.  "  I  love  Honolulu, 
Your  Majesty,"  she  said,  "my  life  is  very  uninter- 
esting at  home  and  everything  here  is  so  pleasant. 
But  my  father  didn't  send  me  —  I  mean  not  getting 
any  letters  — " 

"  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  said  the  King,  "  will  you  let  me 
be  your  banker  ?  There  must  be  some  mistake  that  can 
[206] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

easily  be  rectified,  and  please  have  no  hesitation  in  ac- 
cepting any  help  that  I  can  offer." 

"Oh,  I  couldn't,  I  couldn't,"  said  Florence,  "my 
father  was  to  send  me  a  check  for  a  thousand  dollars. 
I  can't  understand  why  it  hasn't  come." 

"But  let  me—" 

"  No,  no,  I  couldn't,"  she  looked  distressed. 

"  Well,  let  us  talk  it  over  and  see  if  there  is  not  some 
other  way  round." 

"  Don't  go,  Miss  Florence."  Mana  was  sitting  on 
the  floor  at  her  feet,  holding  to  her  dress.  Vida,  with 
his  hands  full  of  excelsior,  leaned  over  the  back  of  her 
chair,  both  of  them  looking  anxiously  but  hopefully 
at  Kalakaua. 

"I  have  it!"  said  the  King.  "A  government  position! 
You  are  very  foolish  not  to  accept  a  loan  from  me,  but  if 
you  prefer  to  be  independent  you  can  take  a  govern- 
ment position." 

Florence  smiled.  "  I'm  afraid  it's  just  the  same  thing 
disguised.  But  I  would  like  to  stay  on  in  Honolulu." 

"  I'm  afraid  it  will  only  mean  tiding  over  a  month  or 
two.  Let  me  think !  Botanist !  Do  you  know  anything 
about  botany  ?  I  want  some  Hawaiian  plants  and  wild 
flowers  classified." 

"No,"  said  Florence,  "I  don't  know  a  thing  about 
flowers,  even  how  to  grow  the  simplest  ones." 
[207] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Inspector  of  prisons  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no !  It  would  break  my  heart  to  see  people  shut 
up  from  this  beautiful  place." 

"  Librarian  ?  "  the  King  went  on.  "  No,  that  is  hard 
work  and  you'd  have  to  stay  indoors.  Could  you  teach 
drawing  ?  I  can  easily  give  you  a  place  in  the  govern- 
ment school.  Only  an  hour  a  week." 

"  I  can  draw  a  little,  but  not  well  enough  to  teach." 

"  Could  you  draw  a  fish  ?  " 

"  A  fish  ?  "  Florence  looked  surprised. 

"  We  have  many  strange  ones  here,"  said  his  Majesty. 
"I  am  writing  a  book  about  the  different  varieties, 
and  I  want  to  have  some  drawings  made  of  them  and 
coloured,  for  they  have  all  the  tints  of  the  rainbow. 
I  do  not  care  for  an  artistic  picture,  all  I  want  is 
careful  drawing,  like  a  map,  with  the  colours  faithfully 
copied." 

"  I  might  do  that,"  said  Florence  doubtfully. 

"  Good ! "  said  the  King.  "  I  will  tell  my  fishermen  to 
be  on  the  lookout  for  rare  specimens,  and  when  they 
catch  one  they  must  take  it  to  you  on  the  instant.  The 
colours  fade  very  quickly,  you  know.  Would  a  hundred 
dollars  a  month  be  enough?  Payable  in  advance,"  he 
added,  smiling. 

"  Too  much ! "  said  Florence.  "  I'd  have  to  be  busy  all 
the  time  to  earn  that." 

[208] 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 

"  No,"  said  the  King.  "  You  see,  I  am  paying  you  for 
your  time.  It  is  a  kind  of  retaining  fee,  and  you  are  to 
hold  yourself  in  readiness  at  any  moment  of  the  day  to 
paint  fish." 


[209] 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN 

Riding  the  Surf 

I  SUPPOSE  I  ought  to  be    getting    ready,"  said 
Florence.     The  whole  family  were  in  the  bower, 
where  Mrs.  Ross  had  come  to  complain  bitterly 
that  she  had  not  been  invited  to  the  surf-riding  party. 

"  The  carriage  won't  be  here  till  eight  o'clock,"  said 
Emma,  "  and  it's  only  half  past  six." 

"I  thought  we'd  have  a  late  dinner  to-night,"  said 
Mrs.  Ross.  "  You  won't  need  any  for  they  always  give 
a  native  feast  when  there's  any  Hawaiian  entertainment 
going." 

"  Perhaps  I  won't  like  it,  and  may  not  be  able  to  eat 
anything." 

"Yes,  you  will,  Chicken  cooked  underground,  and 
fish  wrapped  in  ti  leaves  and  baked  on  the  hot  stones 
are  good  enough  for  anybody,  and  you'll  need  it,  for 
surf-riding  is  very  exhausting.  I  must  say  I  wish 
Emma  were  going.  Heaven  knows  skimming  over  the 
top  of  breakers  has  no  charms  for  me.  I've  seen 
[210] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

whole  canoe  loads  of  people  sent  flying  through  the  air, 
head  over  heels.  It  would  not  be  a  very  dignified  position 
for  a  lady  of  my  age." 

"I'm  sure  the  King  would  have  asked  you  both," 
said  Florence,  genuinely  distressed,  "  if  it  were  anything 
important." 

"Awe!"  cried  Mrs.  Ross,  still  more  aggrieved.  "I 
thought  it  was  Mr.  Maxwell's  party !  So  it  was  His  Ma- 
jesty who  issued  the  invitations ! " 

"  Oh,  Aunt  Vally ! "  said  Emma,  who  was  leaning  in 
the  doorway.  "  You  know  the  King  is  constantly  giving 
little  parties  to  different  people.  He  can't  always  in- 
vite everybody. " 

"We  are  not  everybody!"  said  her  Aunt  severely. 
"You  think  very  little  of  your  position.  When  you  go 
on  the  Mohawk  you  dance  with  the  Paymaster,  and  the 
last  time  we  had  tea  on  the  Stupendous  the  only  person 
who  paid  you  any  attention  was  a  midshipman  only  so 
high." 

"  He  was  such  a  nice  little  boy,  Aunt  Vally." 

"  They're  officers  of  the  gun-room ! "  cried  Lulu.  She 
was  tightly  wedged  into  her  little  rocking-chair,  listening 
eagerly  to  the  conversation. 

"  I  don't  suppose  the  officers  of  a  ship  can  dance  with 
the  people  they  like  best,"  said  Florence.  "They  have 
to  entertain." 

[211] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  I  know,"  said  Lulu,  "  they  have  to  be  nice  to  the 
ladies  who've  given  them  dinners." 

"Mr.  Todd  always  dances  with  me,"  said  Emma 
tearfully,  "  when  I  go  on  the  Mohawk.  The  Captain  of 
the  Pawtucket  doesn't  dance  at  all  and  the  next  highest 
officer  is  the  Navigating  Lieutenant,  and  I'm  sure  I'd  be 
afraid  of  him  he's  so  cross-looking." 

"Lieutenant  Danby  says  he's  a  regular  aristocrat," 
Lulu  occasionally  stumbled  over  long  words,  "and 
bosses  the  men  terribly." 

"  Perhaps  you  ought  to  begin  to  dress  now,  Florence," 
said  Mrs.  Ross. 

"  I  hate  to  keep  you  waiting  for  dinner.  Please  don't, 
you  must  be  hungry." 

"We're  not  hungry,"  said  Mana.  "We  went  to  see 
Princess  Likelike  this  afternoon  and  — " 

"  We've  been  eating  crabs  and  poi  all  day ! "  said  Vida. 

"Your  manners  were  perfectly  awful!"  interposed 
Lulu.  "  You  know  I've  told  you  a  hundred  times  that 
when  you  are  lying  down  to  eat  you  shouldn't  kick 
up  your  heels." 

"  You  should  recline  on  one  elbow  like  a  gentleman," 
said  Mrs.  Ross.  "If  you  could  have  seen  Prince  Lu- 
nalilo  pick  a  shark's  fin  — " 

"But  the  Princess  Likelike  was  lying  flat  on  her 
b— " 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

"  Oh ! "  screamed  Lulu  shrilly. 

"  Bosom ! "  concluded  Vida  triumphantly. 

"Telephone  for  Mamma  Ross!"  called  Bella  from 
the  hall. 

"Lee  came  up  here  to-day,"  said  Lulu  when  Mrs. 
Ross  had  left  hastily.  "  He  took  Bella  to  Chinatown  and 
she  came  back  with  a  bag  of  dried  lichee  and  two  jugs 
of  preserved  ginger  —  Lee's  Bella's  sweetheart ! " 

"I  hope  she  won't  be  married  soon,"  said  Emma. 
"  I  don't  know  how  we'd  get  on  without  her." 

"She  wouldn't  marry  a  Chinaman,  would  she?" 
asked  Florence  aghast. 

"Many  of  the  native  women  do,"  said  Emma. 
"They  make  very  good  husbands.  No  matter  how 
poor  a  Chinaman  is  he  can  always  afford  a  servant  for 
his  wife." 

"Lee  is  going  to  open  a  grocery  store,"  said  Lulu, 
who  always  knew  everybody's  business,  "and  he  says 
he'll  buy  Bella  a  sewing  machine  with  a  little  China  boy 
to  run  it,  and  she  shall  wear  velvet  holakus  every  day. 
He's  saving  up  money.  He  showed  Bella  his  bank  book." 

Mrs.  Ross  came  back  breathless  and  beaming.  "It 
was  the  King's  chamberlain!"  she  said,  "asking  us  to 
the  surf-party.  He  said  the  King  thought  Mr.  Maxwell 
had  asked  us,  and  Mr.  Maxwell  thought  the  King  had, 
and  they've  just  found  it  out." 
[213] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad!"  said  Florence.  "Then  we'd  bet- 
ter dress!" 

There  was  a  hurry  and  a  scramble  for  Emma  and 
Mrs.  Ross  to  get  ready.  The  daughters  of  the  Kame- 
hamehas  were  not  too  proud  to  accept  a  belated  invi- 
tation. Florence  dressed  with  trembling  fingers,  occa- 
sionally stopping  to  draw  a  long  breath,  for  the  thought 
of  meeting  Christopher  Maxwell  gave  her  a  strange 
suffocating  feeling  of  excitement  that  was  almost  pain. 

It  was  dark  when  they  reached  the  King's  place  at 
Waikiki,  for  the  moon  had  not  yet  risen.  Some  natives 
who  were  standing  at  the  gate  waving  torches,  called 
out  a  cheerful  "  aloha  "  as  the  carriage  turned  into  the 
grounds.  There  was  a  strong  salt  smell  of  the  sea  in  the 
air,  and  a  roar  as  of  great  waves  close  at  hand. 

"There's  a  break  in  the  reef  here,"  Mrs.  Ross  ex- 
plained. "  That's  why  the  King  chose  this  place  for  surf- 
riding." 

Down  on  the  beach  a  bonfire  lighted  up  the  edge 
of  the  waves,  reflecting  oddly  in  the  wet  sand.  It  show- 
ed the  outlines  of  a  long  narrow  fern-leaf  structure  like 
an  arbour  on  poles,  and  the  shadowy  figures  of  natives 
who  were  preparing  the  feast. 

The  carriage  drew  up  before  a  low,  wide  building, 
decorated  in  front  by  rows  of  Japanese  lanterns.  It  was 
brilliantly  lit  up  within  and  there  was  the  sound  of 
[214] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

twanging  guitars  and  laughing  voices.  A  bevy  of  native 
girls  decorated  the  party  with  wreaths  as  they  stepped 
up  on  the  veranda. 

As  Florence  entered  the  room  in  the  wake  of  Mrs. 
Ross  and  Emma,  she  blinked  a  little  under  the  bright 
light,  and  the  strange,  almost  imperceptible  contraction 
crossed  her  face.  She  looked  a  slim,  radiant  creature, 
with  bright  colour  in  her  cheeks  and  heightened  ex- 
pectation in  her  sparkling  eyes. 

Mrs.  Ross  was  at  her  best  in  the  presence  of  Kala- 
kaua.  Neither  her  peevishly  aggrieved  nor  her  resentfully 
aggressive  manner  could  resist  his  respectful  homage, 
and  she  assumed,  quite  naturally,  a  noble  graciousness 
worthy  of  her  great  name.  Even  Emma  looked  less 
fierce,  and  the  soft  Hawaiian  vowels  sounded  more 
sweetly  on  her  lips  than  the  rougher  English  she  had 
never  quite  mastered. 

The  party  was  a  small  one  and  it  gave  Florence  a 
pleasant  homelike  feeling  to  see  that  she  knew  every 
one  present,  and  was  no  longer  a  stranger  in  Hono- 
lulu. She  shook  hands  warmly  and  smilingly  with  the 
King.  Dick  Leigh-Garrett  bowed  low  before  her.  The 
widow,  in  a  smart  green  frock  elaborately  be-ruffled, 
greeted  her  gaily,  the  Bonner  girls  screamed  a  welcome 
in  chorus;  Curtis  laukea  gave  her  a  courtly  salutation, 
and  she  turned  to  nod  with  quiet  friendliness  to  Harry 
[215] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

the  half -white  before  she  dared  raise  her  eyes  to  Christo- 
pher Maxwell's  face.  She  had  felt  the  magnetism  of  his 
presence  from  the  moment  she  entered  the  room  though 
he  had  not  come  forward  nor  spoken  a  word.  They  met 
as  they  always  had,  like  two  old  and  tried  friends  of 
many  years  standing.  All  the  worries  and  agitations  of 
the  last  few  days  vanished  from  her  mind  under  the 
warmth  of  his  glance.  He  held  her  hand  closely  in  his 
for  a  moment,  and  then  drew  it  within  his  arm  and 
together  they  followed  the  rest  of  the  party  out  across 
the  lawn  to  the  little  lanai  on  the  beach  where  the  feast 
was  spread  on  banana  leaves. 

The  King  took  the  head  of  the  table  with  Mrs.  Ross 
on  his  right.  That  lady  sank  to  the  ground  with  one 
graceful  movement,  while  Mrs.  Landry,  on  the  other 
side  of  Dick-  Leigh-Garrett,  fluttered  her  ruffles  and 
flounced  into  position  with  some  difficulty.  The  rest  took 
their  places,  and  Max  helped  Florence  to  get  down 
with  as  little  awkwardness  as  possible.  She  tucked  her 
feet  under  her  skirts  and  was  just  about  to  speak,  when  a 
touch  on  her  arm  warned  her  in  time  to  bow  her  head 
while  the  King  murmured  a  short  grace  in  Hawaiian. 

There  were  no  plates,  no  knives,  no  forks.  The  finger 

bowls  were  cocoanut  shells  filled  with  perfumed  water; 

fern  leaves  supplied  the  place  of  napkins.  A  sucking 

pig  roasted  whole  graced  the  centre  of  the  spread,  sur- 

[216] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

rounded  by  strange  parcels  done  up  in  green  leaves,  and 
calabashes  containing  shark-fins,  breadfruit  dumplings 
and  white  poi  that  looked  like  bill-stickers'  paste.  The 
attendants  were  native  girls  with  wreaths  of  flowers 
twined  in  their  hair  and  garlanded  about  their  necks. 
One  of  them  served  Florence  with  a  portion  of  fish  done 
up  in  a  hot  banana  leaf.  She  looked  doubtfully  about 
at  the  others,  hardly  knowing  what  to  do  with  it. 

"  Fish  has  such  a  delicate  flavour,"  said  the  King 
seriously,  "  that  it  should  only  be  eaten  with  the  fingers. 
Even  silver  is  too  coarse." 

"I  feel  as  though  it  were  unprofessional  for  me  to 
eat  fish,"  said  Florence.  "You  know  shoe-makers' 
children  always  go  barefoot  and  surely  a  fish-artist 
shouldn't  eat  her  own  models." 

The  King  laughed.  "These  are  only  mullet,"  he  said, 
"your  kind  are  remarkable  exceptions." 

"Do  you  know,"  she  turned  to  Maxwell,  "that  I 
have  a  government  position?  I  am  the  Royal  Fish 
Draughtsman  to  His  Majesty,  King  Kalakana ! " 

"  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  the  King  explained  in  answer 
to  Max's  puzzled  glance,  "has  been  good  enough  to 
help  me  with  my  book  on  Hawaiian  fishes." 

"  For  a  salary,"  added  Florence. 

Max's  eyes  brightened.  "If  I  can  read  between  the 
lines,"  he  said,  "  that  means  that  you  are  to  stay  on  in 
[217] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Honolulu,  for  it  will  take  some  time  before  His  Ma- 
jesty's great  work  is  completed;  and  if  you  once  start 
in,  you  know,  you  can't  leave  it  unfinished." 

"  I  sent  for  my  fishermen  to-day,"  said  the  King,  "  and 
offered  a  prize  for  strange  specimens  with  orders  for 
them  to  go  to  you  at  once.  They  find  the  most  extraordi- 
nary things  in  their  nets  in  all  sorts  of  queer  colours  and 
shapes.  I  have  seen  such  definitely  tinted  plaids,  that 
I  believe  many  a  Scotsman  could  find  his  own  tartan 
on  some  of  them." 

"  I  was  afraid  you  might  have  had  some  idea  of  leav- 
ing on  this  steamer,"  said  Christopher  Maxwell,  in  a  low 
voice  to  Florence,  as  the  King  turned  to  speak  to  Mrs. 
Ross.  "One  never  knows  what  news  a  mail  may  not 
bring  after  a  month's  interval.  I  was  almost  afraid  to 
ask  you,  but  it  has  been  lying  heavy  on  my  heart  through 
these  trying  days  of  business." 

"I  didn't  get  any  letters  at  all,"  she  replied.  "At 
first  I  did  think  of  going  back  at  once  because  you  see 
I  —  I  mean  my  father  didn't  —  well,  I'll  tell  you,  Mr. 
Maxwell,  my  check  didn't  come." 

"Oh,  my  dear  girl,"  said  Maxwell  earnestly,  "surely 
you  know  me  well  enough  not  to  let  a  matter  like 
that—" 

"  It's  all  settled.  The  King  was  awfully  good  and 
wanted  to  be  my  banker,  but  I  never  borrowed  money 
[218] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

in  my  life  and  I  couldn't,  you  know,  and  then  he  offered 
me  a  government  position  —  that  sounds  fine,  doesn't  it  ? 
And  now  I'm  so  proud  of  it  I  don't  care  if  the  old 
check  never  comes." 

"  There's  sure  to  have  been  some  mistake  somewhere. 
Perhaps  a  mail  bag  was  lost.  That  occasionally  happens, 
you  know." 

"  Well,  I  do  feel  anxious  at  not  hearing  from  my  fath- 
er, but  I'm  not  going  to  worry  about  it.  I  have  the  happy 
faculty  that  is  almost  a  genius  of  shutting  the  door 
on  worries  and  losing  the  key.  There ! "  she'  said,  with 
a  little  gesture,  "  it  is  thrown  away  and  we  won't  think 
about  it  any  more." 

"You're  right,"  said  Max.  "This  is  too  glorious  an 
occasion  to  mar  by  a  single  cloud.  I  appreciate  it,  I  can 
tell  you,  for  I  had  to  make  a  terrible  effort  to  get 
here." 

"Not  come  to-night?"  she  said,  looking  up  at  him 
blankly.  The  rest  of  the  table  were  talking  gaily.  Max 
lowered  his  voice. 

"  I  was  detained  at  the  plantation.  You  know  I  take 
a  great  interest  in  my  labourers  and  they've  been  getting 
into  a  fearful  mess  at  Malaea,  rioting  and  killing  each 
other.  At  any  other  time  I'd  have  stayed  there  to  sift 
the  whole  affair  to  the  bottom,  but  I'm  afraid  I  rushed 
through  it  and  all  for  your  sake.  Nothing  seemed  half  so 
[219] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

important  as  seeing  you  to-night,  and  hearing  from  your 
own  lips  that  you  were  to  stay  on  in  Honolulu." 

With  the  knowledge  that  she  loved  him  Florence  had 
been  more  afraid  than  anxious  to  meet  Max  again. 
But  now,  as  they  sat  murmuring  apart  from  the  others, 
the  undercurrent  of  deep  feeling  in  his  voice  reassured 
her,  and  though  he  talked  only  of  the  plantation  and 
his  workmen,  there  was  unusual  seriousness  in  the 
grey  eyes  that  met  hers,  an  intensity  in  his  glance  that 
filled  her  heart  with  an  agitating  emotion. 

"I'm  trying  to  replace  my  coolies  by  Japanese  la- 
bourers," he  went  on,  still  speaking  aside  to  Florence. 
"I  like  them  better,  and  as  many  of  them  bring  their 
families  with  them  and  stay  on  here  after  their  service 
is  up,  I  think  they  make  a  better  class  of  immigrants 
and  are  less  a  menace  to  the  country  than  the  Chinese. 
The  row  we've  just  had  was  between  the  last  of  my 
coolies  and  a  newly  imported  batch  of  Japs;  several 
were  killed  on  both  sides.  I've  been  trying  to  get  at 
the  bottom  of  it.  It  is  an  intricate  problem  to  manage  so 
many  people  with  justice  and  humanity.  But  I  mustn't 
bore  you  with  all  this  —  and  yet  — "  he  looked  down  at 
her  earnestly  — "  You  are  the  kind  of  woman  to  help  — " 

"Try  some  raw  fish!"  cried  Mrs.  Ross  from  across 
the  table.  "It  is  mixed  with  red-peppers  and  grated 
kukui  nuts,  I  know  you'll  like  it." 
[220] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

"  It  is  good,'*  said  Florence  absently.  Vivid  scarlet 
tinted  her  lips  and  her  cheeks  glowed  with  suppressed 
emotion.  She  saw  nothing  but  friendliness  in  the  wid- 
ow's sarcastic  glances  and  forgetting  that  she  meant  to 
be  cold  to  Dick  Leigh-Garrett,  she  smiled  across  the 
table  at  him  quite  frankly,  only  increasing  the  Cap- 
tain's ill-concealed  jealousy. 

"Lee  made  some  raw-fish  salad  for  Mrs.  Worthing 
at  the  hotel,"  went  on  Mrs.  Ross.  "He  says  she  had 
not  been  able  to  eat  anything  for  days  and  it  helped 
her  wonderfully.  I  believe  that  is  all  she  lives  on  now, 
with  milk  and  poi." 

"  We  had  a  sick  man  here  once,"  said  the  King,  "  an 
Englishman,  who  was  travelling,  and  put  off  on  ac- 
count of  his  health.  He  could  not  eat  anything  and  was 
slowly  dying  of  starvation.  Some  aggravated  form  of 
dyspepsia.  I  sent  down  my  servants  with  poi  and  raw 
fish;  he  began  to  get  well  from  that  day  and  now  he's 
a  member  of  parliament." 

The  Bonner  girls  were  screaming  a  jargon  of  Hawaiian 
and  English  at  the  other  end  of  the  table  with  Curtis 
laukea;  Emma  glowering  fiercely  but  quite  happy,  as 
they  all  dipped  their  fingers  into  the  same  calabash.  That 
seemed  bad  enough  to  Florence,  but  when  Betty  Bonner 
rolled  a  ball  of  poi  on  her  finger  by  a  single  flip  and  handed 
it  across  the  table  to  Harry,  she  looked  the  other  way. 
[221] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Captain  Leigh-Garrett  was  eating  breadfruit  dump- 
lings, picking  them  out  of  the  calabash  by  means  of  a 
straw,  and  his  drink  was  iced  champagne  from  a  large 
goblet,  for  he  disdained  the  cocoanut  milk  served  in  the 
shell  that  Florence  found  refreshing.  He  was  evidently 
quarrelling  in  an  undertone  with  Mrs.  Landry  who  nib- 
bled a  chicken's  wing  with  an  expression  of  haughty  dis- 
favour. Suddenly  she  gave  a  shriek.  Dick  had  overturned 
an  inverted  bowl  and  a  number  of  live  shrimps  skipped 
wiggling  about  the  table.  Florence  recoiled  in  alarm, 
but  was  still  more  horror-stricken  when  Mrs.  Ross 
reached  forward,  daintily  picked  them  up  one  by  one, 
and  ate  them  alive. 

The  King  laughed  at  Florence's  exclamation  of  hor- 
ror. "  You  shouldn't  be  shocked  at  that,"  he  said,  "  you 
eat  oysters  alive." 

"I  know,"  said  Florence,  "but  they  don't  wiggle." 

"What  if  they  yelled,"  said  Dick  Leigh-Garrett. 
"Fancy  an  oyster  screaming  as  he  went  down  your 
throat." 

"  Don't,"  cried  Florence.  The  native  attendant  hand- 
ed her  a  slice  of  pineapple,  the  size  of  a  dinner  plate. 
Max  cut  it  for  her  with  his  pen-knife  into  little 
triangles. 

"  It  is  curious,"  she  said,  glancing  up  at  him,  "  how 
becoming  Ids  are  to  some  people  and  how  frightful 
[222] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

others  look  in  them.     Your  jasmine  buds  are  like  a 
fillet  of  pearls." 

Dick's  wreath  of  roses,  tilted  rakishly  on  one  side, 
gave  him  a  decidedly  bacchanalian  air;  and  the  King's 
"rope  of  gold,"  as  Mana called  it,  rested  on  his  thick 
black  hair  like  a  royal  crown. 

"  When  I  am  away  from  home,"  said  Kalakaua,  "  and 
meet  any  one  who  raves  about  the  islands  and  how  they 
would  love  to  live  the  free  indolent  life  of  the  tropics  and 
all  that>  I  say  there  are  two  tests.  If  a  wreath  of  flowers 
is  becoming  to  him  and  he  likes  the  smell  of  cocoanut 
oil  I  advise  him  to  buy  a  ticket  for  Hawaii;  otherwise 
he  had  better  follow  the  beaten  track  and  put  his  name 
down  for  a  Cook's  excursion. " 

"  Cook  will  be  bringing  his  tourists  here  some  day," 
said  Florence.  "Every  one  says  Hawaii  is  advancing 
rapidly." 

"For  my  part,"  said  the  King,  "I  would  like  to 
advance  backwards,  so  to  speak.  We  are  leaving  all 
that  is  free  and  wholesome  and  noble  behind  us 
here  in  Hawaii.  Even  the  old  sports  are  finer  than 
anything  civilization  can  offer  us.  There  is  nothing  I 
would  like  better  than  to  slide  down  Punch-bowl  on 
one  of  those  old  Hawaiian  sleds  you  see  in  the  museum. 
That  is  a  magnificent  feat.  Not  that  I  can  do  it,  but  I'd 
like  to  try." 

[223] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  You  can  see  the  old  slides  quite  plainly  on  the  slope 
of  the  mountain,"  said  Florence.  "  I  was  there  the  other 
day  and  noticed  them." 

"  When  I  was  a  young  girl,"  observed  Mrs.  Ross/*  I 
remember  seeing  Prince  Lunalilo  standing  erect  on  a  sled 
and  flying  down  one  of  the  steepest  slides.  He  was  ex- 
communicated from  church,  I  remember,  so  he  had  to 
give  it  up." 

"The  first  duty  of  the  missionary,"  growled  Dick, 
"  seems  to  have  been  a  general  forbidding  of  anything 
that  was  amusing." 

"I  have  a  fine  old  fellow  here  to-night,"  said  the 
King,  "  who  is  to  ride  the  surf  for  us  in  the  old-fashioned 
manner  on  a  board.  He  is  the  only  one  left  who  can 
come  in  standing." 

Coffee  was  served  on  the  beach  where  a  semicircle 
of  chairs  had  been  arranged  facing  the  sea.  A  little  to 
one  side  rose  a  small  platform  on  stilts  built  over  the 
water  for  the  band.  The  King  took  the  centre  chair 
with  Mrs.  Ross  on  his  right.  Captain  Leigh-Garrett 
hung  back  from  the  widow,  trying  to  join  Florence 
and  Max,  but  fell  a  prey  to  the  Bonner  girls  who  pounc- 
ed on  him  with  screams  and  carried  him  off  to  sit  with 
them.  Mrs.  Landry  with  a  set  smile  on  her  face  took  the 
chair  on  Kalakaua's  left  where  even  Curtis  laukea's 
charming  attention  failed  to  soften  her  mood.  Emma 
[224] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

and  Harry  sought  an  extreme  of  the  semicircle  where 
they  sat  very  silent  and  very  near  together.  Max  pur- 
posely detained  Florence  that  they  might  take  a  posi- 
tion somewhat  detached  from  the  others. 

"  It  is  all  so  incongruous,"  said  Florence  to  the  King, 
"  Your  Majesty  gives  us  live  shrimps  served  with  cham- 
pagne, and  after  fingerbowls  of  cocoanuts  we  are  drink- 
ing our  coffee  out  of  Sevres  china." 

"  Not  more  incongruous  than  the  people,"  said  Kala- 
kaua.  "  Could  you  imagine  more  widely  different  char- 
acters than  our  friend  Max  here,  the  successful  Ameri- 
can, type  of  the  most  advanced  civilization,  and  my  poor 
old  Kaipo,  the  surf-rider,  survivor  of  a  fast  dying 
race?" 

"Your  country  is  prosperous  and  rich,"  said  Flor- 
ence. "Your  Majesty  rules  over  a  land  that  shows  few 
signs  of  decay." 

"  You  do  not  know  Hawaii,"  said  the  King  seriously. 
"I  hold  my  throne  against  the  advance  of  civilization 
by  sheer  will-power  and  the  love  of  my  people.  But  they 
are  going  fast.  Old  Kaipo  could  show  you  great  churches 
built  of  coral  that  he  remembers  crowded  with  people; 
they  are  empty  ruins  now.  We  are  too  weak  and  trust- 
ing and  simple  for  civilization.  The  very  virtues  of  the 
Hawaiians  are  their  undoing.  I  would  have  more  respect 
for  my  race  if  we  had  fought  to  the  bitter  end  like  the 
[225] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Indians.  But  we  give  up  all  and  die.  I  feel  now  as  though 
we  were  making  our  last  stand;  after  us  the  deluge." 

"  Issue  a  royal  decree,  Rex,"  screamed  Polly  Bonner. 

The  King's  expression  changed,  and  he  laughed  as  he 
drew  out  a  gold  cigarette  case  with  a  crown  in  diamonds 
on  the  lid. 

"We  hereby  decree,"  he  said,  "that  all  ladies  pres- 
ent who  wish  to  smoke  are  commanded  to  do  so,  while 
those  who  do  not  wish  it  are  forbidden  to  touch  the  weed 
under  the  ban  of  my  royal  displeasure." 

"Isn't  it  terrible  to  live  in  an  absolute  monarchy," 
cried  Betty  Bonner,  saucily  helping  herself  from  the  gold 
box  and  handing  it  on  to  Mrs.  Landry  and  her  sister. 
"  Rex  is  a  regular  Tzar." 

The  band  boys  with  their  instruments  under  their 
arms  ran  along  the  beach,  and  waiting  for  a  receding 
wave  dashed  up  to  their  platform,  the  last  one  getting 
caught  in  a  swirl  of  water.  There  was  applause  from  the 
party  on  the  sand. 

"Honolulu  is  always  reminding  me  of  the  theatre," 
said  Florence.  "This  is  like  a  scene  in  an  opera  bouffe." 

Maxwell  was  at  her  feet,  resting  an  elbow  on  the  edge 
of  her  chair.  "  Did  you  ever  see  a  more  wonderful  drop 
curtain  ?  "  he  said,  looking  out  to  sea. 

The  incoming  tide  creamed  on  the  sand  before 
them;  the  surface  of  the  water  shimmered  and  sparkled, 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

occasionally  breaking  into  wild  confusion  as  the  great 
waves  raced  in,  rising  high  above  the  horizon  line,  and 
then  subsiding  and  spreading  out  upon  the  beach. 
Diamond  Head  towered  above  them,  all  the  little 
water  courses  on  its  rugged  slope  glinting  like  silver 
threads.  The  moon  had  risen  in  a  clear  and  starlit  sky, 
painting  a  pathway  across  the  water  to  their  very  feet. 
The  night  was  so  brilliant  that  the  wild  convolvulus 
that  grew  upon  the  edge  of  the  sand  showed  vividly 
green,  the  flowers  picked  out  in  sparkling  tints  of 
pink  and  white  and  blue. 

"  The  sea  looks  dangerous  here,"  said  Florence.  "  It 
seems  a  fearful  turmoil  to  go  out  into  with  a  little  canoe." 

The  Hawaiian  quartette  began  to  sing,  accompany- 
ing themselves  with  guitars  and  the  buzzing  little  euka- 
leles.  The  pleasant  sound  floating  over  the  water 
brought  out  the  rest  of  the  natives  from  the  lanai  who 
threw  themselves  on  the  sand  to  listen  to  the  music,  oc- 
casionally joining  in  the  chorus,  their  sweet  voices 
faultlessly  true  in  time  and  key. 

Maxwell  turned  slightly,  resting  his  head  upon  his 
hand  that  he  might  look  up  at  his  companion. 

The  King  and  Mrs.  Ross  were  talking  to  each  other 

in  Hawaiian  with  an  air  of  graciousness  and  mutual 

respect;  Curtis  laukea  bent  over  the  back  of  Mrs.  Lan- 

dry's  chair;  Emma  and  Harry  still  sat  close  together 

[227] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

joining  in  the  songs;  while  Dick  and  the  Bonner  girls 
amused  themselves  throwing  lighted  matches  on  the 
sands,  exclaiming  joyously  when  the  little  land  crabs 
made  off  with  them  in  zigzag  tracks  of  fire. 

"  Did  you  ever  wonder,"  said  Max  softly,  "  at  the 
secret  of  affinity  ?  Doesn't  it  seem  strange  that  you  rec- 
ognize some  people  at  the  first  glance  as  your  own 
kind?" 

"  And  others,"  said  Florence,  "  whom  you  may  respect 
and  admire  for  really  excellent  qualities,  but  cannot  like. 
They  don't  seem  as  though  they  were  made  out  of  the 
same  clay." 

"  That's  just  it.  I  believe  God  used  different  kinds  of 
dust  when  he  created  man.  Brick  dust  — " 

"That  means  a  good  fellow,"  said  Florence.  "And 
gold  dust  is  honesty  — " 

"  And  some  have  specks  of  diamonds,  and  that's  gen- 
ius, and  some  are  plain  garden  loam,  and  some  — " 
he  laughed  a  little  — "  some  are  just  mud." 

"I  see,"  said  Florence.  "The  mud  people  recognize 
each  other;  you  may  be  all  garden  loam,  but  if  you  have 
one  speck  of  gold  in  you  you  know  it  at  once  when  you 
meet  another  person  who  has  the  same," 

"  Whatever  it  is,"  returned  Max, "  that  we  are  made  of, 
it's  the  same  kind  of  dust  clear  through.  I  like  to 
believe  that  destiny  picks  out  one  woman  for  one  man 
[228] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

and  that  we  have  been  waiting  for  each  other  from 
the  very  beginning." 

"Perhaps,"  and  Florence's  voice  trembled  a  little 
as  she  looked  down  into  Maxwell's  face.  The  roar  of  the 
waves  increased  in  volume  till  it  drowned  the  sound  of 
guitars  and  singing  voices,  and  then,  fading  away,  gave 
place  to  the  sweet  music,  "  It  may  be,"  she  went  on, 
"  that  the  lines  of  our  life  are  drawn  by  Fate  before 
we  are  born,  with  those  who  are  to  influence  us  for  good 
or  evil.  Some  begin  close  beside  us  and  then  branch 
off  never  to  return.  Others  run  along  parallel  but  do 
not  touch  — " 

"The  line  of  my  life,"  said  Max,  "began  far  from 
yours  in  a  different  part  of  the  world  and  yet  it  was 
drawing  nearer  and  closer  with  every  succeeding  hour  — 
and  now  — "  he  laid  his  hand  on  hers  — "  now  that  they 
have  met  — " 

There  was  shouting  from  the  natives  on  the  beach. 
Old  Kaipo  came  up  to  announce  that  it  was  time  for 
the  surf-riding  to  begin.  Max  quickly  bent  and  kissed 
Florence's  hand  before  he  jumped  up  to  answer  the 
summons.  The  Bonner  girls  carried  her  and  Emma  off 
to  the  house  to  dress  while  Curtis  laukea  took  charge  of 
the  men.  The  King  preferred  to  be  a  spectator  of  the 
sport  and  kept  his  seat.  Mrs.  Ross,  with  due  regard 
to  her  dignity,  remained  with  him;  also  Mrs.  Landry 
[229] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

who  cared  too  much  for  her  appearance  to  risk  getting 
her  hair  wet. 

Numbers  of  natives,  men  and  girls,  were  already  in  the 
water;  rising  with  the  waves  or  darting  through  them 
like  fishes.  Out  on  the  beach  a  group  of  young  fellows 
had  drawn  up  two  canoes  opposite  the  opening  in  the 
reef.  The  surf-party  soon  appeared  in  their  bathing 
suits  enveloped  in  long  wraps. 

"You  must  divide  into  groups,"  said  the  King. 
"  We'll  appoint  captains,  who  must  choose  sides,  as  you 
do  in  charades." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Betty  Bonner,  "  let  the  girls  do  that." 

"  You're  right,"  said  the  King.  "  Then  I  appoint  you 
and  Miss  Van  Voorhis." 

"  I  choose  Emma ! "  said  Betty. 

"  Polly  Bonner,"  said  Florence. 

"Captain  Leigh-Garrett,"  said  Betty  again.  Dick 
hesitated  for  a  moment  and  then,  with  a  gesture  of  im- 
patience walked  over  to  her  side. 

"  Mr.  Maxwell,"  said  Florence,  and  when  Betty  had 
chosen  Curtis  she  called  for  Harry. 

Florence  cast  off  her  wrap  into  the  hands  of  a  native 
girl  and  stepped  into  the  canoe.  She  clung  convulsively 
to  a  stout  Hawaiian's  slippery  shoulders  as  ,he  guided 
her  to  a  seat  that  was  little  more  than  a  slat  fastened 
across  the  top.  She  and  Max,  Harry  and  Polly  Bonner 
[230] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

were  sandwiched  in  between  five  natives.  It  seemed  to 
Florence  as  though  the  whole  thing  would  upset  any 
minute. 

"  It's  all  right,"  shouted  Max  reassuringly  in  answer 
to  some  inarticulate  gasps  and  screams.  "The  out- 
rigger keeps  it  steady.  Have  you  your  paddle  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Florence  breathlessly. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  splashing  and  shouting. 
The  canoes  were  pushed  out  into  the  water  by  a  crowd 
of  natives  while  the  band  played  a  rollicking  air. 

"  Oh,"  screamed  Florence,  to  the  broad  brown  back 
in  front  of  her,  "  the  waves  are  awful !  This  one  coming 
looks  as  big  as  a  mountain." 

The  leader  called  out  excitedly.  Harry  translated 
that  they  must  all  paddle  hard  to  reach  it  before  it 
broke. 

"  It  will  go  right  over  us ! "  she  cried. 

"Alpine  climbing!"  shouted  Max,  as  they  mounted 
the  slope  of  the  wave,  digging  their  short  paddles  into 
the  water  as  though  it  were  a  solid  substance;  they  hung 
dizzily  for  a  moment  on  the  crest  and  then  slid  down 
the  other  side  into  the  trough  of  the  sea. 

Florence  was  cold  at  first  and  not  a  little  frightened, 
but  she  clutched  the  paddle  and  followed  the  motions  of 
the  man  in  front  of  her  whose  brown  back  was  lumpy 
with  muscles. 

[231] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Another  wave  loomed  up  before  them;  ere  they  could 
reach  it  to  climb  the  side  it  showed  signs  of  breaking. 

"  Eka!  Aweka  maki  I "  cried  the  leader. 

"Back!  Back!"  shouted  Harry,  and  they  paddled 
fiercely,  the  breaking  wave  foaming  all  about  them. 
Then  they  started  off  again  for  the  next  one  with  in- 
creasing excitement.  Florence  began  to  warm  up  to  the 
work  as  she  understood  what  they  were  trying  to  do. 
Soon  she  was  screaming  with  the  rest :  "  Makai!  Hokil " 
as  they  paddled  onward  to  catch  another  wave  and 
climb  its  steep  crest,  flying  down  the  other  side  like  a 
sled  on  an  ice  path.  They  passed  seven  large  rollers,  and 
then  came  the  difficult  manoeuvre  of  turning  between 
the  waves  without  catching  a  breaker  broadside  on. 
With  shouts  and  screams  from  the  leader,  and  all  pad- 
dling on  the  same  side  with  cries  of  "  Wild!  Wild!  "  they 
spun  around  facing  the  shore  just  in  time  to  escape  a 
drenching.  As  it  was  they  rocked  in  a  smother  of  foam. 

"Keep  her  head  on!"  called  out  Harry  above  the  ex- 
cited shouts  of  the  Hawaiians.  "If  we  swerve  an  inch 
we'll  be  knocked  into  spilikins ! " 

"I  know!  I  know!"  cried  Florence  excitedly.  They 
were  all  looking  back  over  their  shoulders  waiting  for  a 
large  unbroken  wave. 

"  We  want  a  big  one  that  will  carry  us  all  the  way  to 
the  shore,"  cried  Polly. 

[232] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

"  Here  comes  one ! " 

"No,  wait,"  Harry  called  out.  "Follow  the  leader; 
when  he  shouts '  Hoki '  go  ahead ! " 

They  allowed  several  rollers  to  pass,  rising  high  on 
the  top  from  whence  they  could  plainly  see,  in  the  bright 
moonlight,  the  little  semicircle  on  the  beach;  the  group 
of  natives  and  the  band  boys  on  their  platform;  for  an 
instant  only,  and  then  they  sank  into  a  deep  green 
hollow. 

"Hoki/  Hoki!  hoi!"  cried  the  leader.  They  dug 
their  paddles  into  the  water  with  all  the  strength  of 
their  arms.  A  great  wave  caught  the  stern  at  exactly 
the  right  angle  and  then,  with  cries  of  wild  exhilaration 
from  every  throat  the  canoe  flew  towards  the  shore  like 
an  arrow  from  a  bow.  As  it  raced  through  the  water, 
still  propelled  by  the  one  great  wave  they  rose  in  their 
seats,  brandishing  their  paddles  and  screaming  with  the 
full  force  of  their  lungs. 

The  canoe  grounded  quietly  on  the  beach  where  a 
group  of  natives  pulled  it  ashore.  Girls  ran  to  meet  them 
with  bath-robes. 

"  I  want  to  do  it  all  over  again ! "  cried  Florence,  as 
they  threw  themselves  exhausted  at  the  feet  of  the 
King  and  his  party. 

"It  was  glorious!"  panted  Max.  He  looked  like  a 
handsome  friar  lying  on  the  sand  in  his  long  white  robe. 
[233] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Look!  Look!"  cried  the  King.  "Here  comes  the 
other!" 

They  rose  to  their  feet  looking  seaward.  The  band 
played  madly,  the  natives  cheered  and  Florence  found 
herself  screaming  like  the  rest  as  the  second  canoe 
came  spinning  towards  them. 

"  Wasn't  that  bully  !  "  cried  Betty  Bonner  as  she 
staggered  up  the  sand.  Some  natives  came  out  with 
trays  of  glasses  and  champagne,  and  while  the 
party  rested  on  the  beach  old  Kaipo,  dressed  only 
in  a  loin  cloth  appeared  carrying  a  long  smooth 
board.  Throwing  one  arm  over  it  he  swam  out  to 
sea. 

"I'm  so  tired  I'm  nearly  dead!"  panted  Betty  Bon- 
ner lying  at  full  length  on  the  sand. 

"  I  feel  like  a  piece  of  string,"  said  Florence,  "  but  I 
want  to  do  it  again." 

"  Isn't  it  very  late  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Ross. 

"Long  after  midnight,"  said  Dick  Leigh-Garrett. 
"But  this  moon  will  last  till  morning." 

Florence  sat  up  and  watched  Kaipo's  progress.  Only 
his  head  could  be  seen  at  intervals  like  a  black  speck  on 
the  burnished  silver  of  the  sea.  "  He  is  going  faster  than 
you  would  think,"  said  the  King,  "for  he's  a  famous 
swimmer;  but  of  course  he  cannot  make  the  speed  of  a 
canoe  full  of  paddles." 

[234] 


RIDING  THE  SURF 

Suddenly  there  was  a  cry  that  rose  to  a  shout  as 
Kaipo's  dark  figure  appeared  in  silhouette  against  the 
sky.  He  was  on  his  knees  at  first,  but  as  he  neared  the 
shore  he  rose  slowly  erect.  The  board  he  stood  on  was 
invisible  so  that  he  seemed  like  a  god  of  the  air  flying 
towards  them,  brandishing  his  paddle  aloft  like  a  spear. 


[935] 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN 
The  Fish 

MRS.  ROSS  went  to  sleep  during  the  long 
drive  from  Waikiki  to  town,  while  Emma 
sang  softly  to  herself.  Florence,  in  spite  of 
her  bodily  fatigue,  for  they  had  gone  out  into  the  sea 
again  and  again,  was  keenly  wide  awake.  She  lay  back 
quietly,  but  her  eyes  were  open  and  shining  brightly  as 
she  lived  over  in  her  mind  the  happiest  night  of  her  life. 
It  was  a  warm  mild  morning  with  the  dawn  breaking 
rose-pink  over  the  Delectable  Mountains;  the  trot  of 
the  horses  and  Emma's  crooning  were  the  only  sounds 
that  broke  the  stillness  of  the  sleeping  town. 

"  Aue!"  cried  Mrs.  Ross,  as  the  carriage  turned  into 
her  gate.  "  Look !  who  are  those  men  on  my  veranda  ?  " 
At  least  ten  natives  were  gathered  at  the  steps.  Be- 
tween the  gate  and  the  house  Mrs.  Ross  had  time  to 
imagine  a  dozen  different  calamities. 

"I  wonder  if  the  place  has  been   on  fire?  I  hope 
nobody  is  dead  and  they  have  come  to  break  the  news ! " 

[236] 


THE  FISH 

The  men  were  too  smiling  to  be  the  bearers  of  evil 
tidings.  One  of  them  carried  a  strange  looking  parcel 
done  up  in  green  leaves,  to  which  they  all  pointed  ex- 
citedly as  they  talked  in  Hawaiian.  Mana  and  Vida 
came  running  in  their  striped  pajamas  just  as  they 
fell  out  of  bed,  to  see  what  was  going  on.  One  of  the 
men,  unwrapping  the  odd  bundle  displayed  a  brilliantly 
coloured,  strange  flat  fish. 

"The  men  say  they  are  fishermen,"  said  Mrs.  Ross, 
"  and  the  King  offered  a  reward  — " 

"  Oh,  it's  for  me  — "  cried  Florence. 

"  He  says  the  King  promised  ten  dollars  to  the  one 
who  found  a  rare  fish  and  Punakiki  has  won  it ! " 

"  What  are  all  the  other  men  here  for  ?  "  asked  Flor- 
ence. 

"  They  are  friends  of  Punakiki.  They  are  going  with 
him  to  the  palace  to  claim  the  reward." 

"  I  told  them,"  said  Emma,  "  that  if  they  went  at  once 
they  would  find  the  chamberlain  before  he  goes  to  bed 
for  Curtis  is  sure  to  stay  up  for  breakfast." 

The  men  gave  the  fish,  laid  out  on  its  banana  leaf 
wrapper,  into  Florence's  hands  and  took  their  departure 
in  high  spirits. 

"  Poor  Punakiki ! "  she  said,  looking  after  them,  "  his 
ten  dollars  won't  last  long  with  all  those  friends  to  share 
it." 

[237] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"That  is  the  native  fashion,"  said  Mrs.  Ross  con- 
temptuously, "as  soon  as  a  Hawaiian  gets  a  penny  he 
has  to  look  up  a  friend  to  share  it.  They  haven't  any 
sense  at  all." 

"You  will  have  to  paint  the  fish  pretty  quick,  before 
it  fades,"  said  Vida. 

"Indeed,  I  will." 

"  Aue! "  cried  Mrs.  Ross.  "  Aren't  you  going  to  sleep 
at  all  ?  I'm  nearly  dead.  I  can  hardly  keep  my  eyes  open. 
You  simply  can't  go  to  work  now." 

"  Yes  I  can.  I  don't  feel  a  bit  sleepy.  Just  look  at  those 
colours !  Aren't  they  wonderful !  I  don't  want  to  waste  a 
minute." 

Florence  was  just  in  the  mood  for  painting.  She  could 
not  have  slept  in  her  present  state  of  radiant  happiness 
and  she  welcomed  the  idea  of  work  with  eagerness.  She 
drank  a  cup  of  hot  coffee  that  Bella  brought  to  the 
bower.  As  Lulu  was  still  asleep  and  no  one  gainsaid 
them,  the  Princes  had  their  bowls  of  bread  and  milk 
served  at  once  and  ate  their  breakfast  hurriedly, 
while  Florence  made  her  preparations.  She  laid  the  fish 
on  the  table  and  began  setting  out  her  colours.  Vida  and 
Mana  ran  for  a  glass  of  water,  arranged  a  chair  and  of- 
fered their  advice  and  encouragement. 

"  How  can  you  set  it  up  to  draw  it  ? "  asked  Mana. 
"  You  can't  see  it  very  well  lying  down  flat  in  the  dish." 
[238] 


THE  FISH 

"Yes,  I  can,"  said  Florence  confidently,  pinning  a 
paper  to  the  board  and  sharpening  her  pencils. 

The  fish  seemed  easy  to  draw,  with  its  large  round 
eyes,  well  defined  gills  and  fan-shaped  fins.  The  artist 
measured  it  across  with  a  piece  of  string  and  carefully 
drew  in  the  outline,  Mana  and  Vida  watching  her  with 
breathless  interest.  She  rubbed  it  out  several  times  and 
had  to  make  many  measurements. 

"  It's  like  a  map  of  Upolu,"  commented  Mana. 

"You  can  look,  but  you  musn't  make  criticisms," 
said  Florence.  Her  drawing  certainly  did  not  seem  to  re- 
semble the  original. 

"  Does  a  fish  breathe  through  his  ears  ?  "  asked  Vida 
presently. 

"  He  can't  breathe  at  all,"  said  Florence. 

"Why  not?" 

"Oh,  dear!"  Florence  was  getting  more  and  more 
nervous  as  she  tried  to  draw  in  the  head  and  eyes.  **I 
don't  know." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Mana  reflectively,  "  he  hasn't  any 
air  to  breathe.  But  perhaps  he  takes  in  water  the  way 
we  do  air." 

"  Does  he  breathe  water  with  his  ears  ? "  asked  Vida 
persistently. 

"They're  not  his  ears,"  said  Mana,  "they're  his  gills 
and  he  breathes  water  with  them." 
[239] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Well,  then,"  said  Vida,  "does  he  hear  with  his 
gills?" 

"  Does  he,  Miss  Florence  ?  "  asked  Mana. 

"Who?" 

Vida  repeated  the  question. 

"  It  is  strange,"  she  said,  still  working  hurriedly,  "  but 
I  don't  know  anything  about  a  fish." 

"  Did  you  ever  draw  one  before  ?  "  asked  Vida,  doubt- 
fully regarding  the  strange  hieroglyphics  she  was  making 
on  the  paper. 

"  No,  I  never  did,  and  I'd  no  idea  they  were  so  diffi- 
cult." 

"I  know  what  it  looks  like!"  cried  Vida  excitedly, 
forgetting  Florence's  request.  "It's  the  image  of  Prin- 
*  cess  Ruth!" 

"She  weighs  four  hundred  pounds,"  said  Mana, 
"  and  her  eyes  stick  out  just  like  that ! " 

"It's  beginning  to  fade,"  said  Vida  after  a  pause. 
"  The  edge  of  his  fin  was  scarlet,  don't  you  remember, 
and  now  it's  pink!" 

"  Oh  dear  ! "  said  Florence,  "  I  hate  to  begin  putting 
on  the  colour  before  I've  finished  the  drawing." 

Lulu  came  in  to  order  the  boys  off  to  bathe  and  dress. 

"You  will  be  in  time  for  school  for  once,  anyway," 
she  said.  "You've  been  late  every  morning  this  week." 

"  I  couldn't  find  my  hat  yesterday,"  said  Mana. 
[240] 


THE  FISH 

"  And  the  day  before  I  couldn't  find  my  shoes,"  said 
Vida.  "  I  went  to  play  with  Cissy  Macfarlane  and  left 
them  hanging  on  her  gate  and  forgot  all  about  them." 

"  Why  on  earth  did  you  take  them  off  ? "  asked  Lulu 
reproachfully. 

"You  can't  ever  play  with  shoes  on!"  cried  both  the 
Princes  at  once. 

"We're  the  only  boys  at  school  that  wear  shoes," 
went  on  Vida,  evidently  returning  to  a  time-worn  griev- 
ance. "  I  don't  see  why  we  should  wear  them  when  no- 
body else  does." 

"  Will  you  go  and  take  your  bath  ?  "  Lulu  suddenly 
screamed,  losing  her  temper.  She  flew  at  the  two  boys 
like  a  little  termagant,  twisted  her  fists  into  the  folds  of 
their  pajama  coats  and  dragged  them  off  protesting  and 
mortally  embarrassed  to  be  so  shamefully  used  before 
their  friend. 

At  half -past  eight  Lulu  and  the  Princes  started  to 
school,  the  two  boys  heart-broken  at  leaving  Florence  to 
her  fascinating  work  without  their  help.  Mrs.  Ross  and 
Emma  were  sleeping.  All  the  house  was  quiet  while  the 
young  artist  worked  on  breathlessly,  rubbing  out,  doing 
it  over,  measuring  and  changing  until  her  paper  turned 
to  a  sort  of  dingy  grey.  Suddenly  the  telephone  bell  rang. 
She  waited  to  hear  Bella's  footsteps  in  answer,  but  as 
there  was  not  a  sound,  and  thinking  it  might  be  some- 
[241] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

thing  important,  she  threw  down  her  brushes  and  rushed 
to  the  telephone.  "  Norwegian  bark  Vladimir  off  Cocoa 
Head!" 

Her  "thank  you"  sounded  like  an  exclamation  of 
fury  as  she  hung  up  the  receiver  and  flew  back  to  her 
work. 

The  drawing  certainly  did  look  ludicrously  human 
with  the  grinning  mouth  and  goggle  eyes.  She  carefully 
studied  the  model  and  saw  that  the  tints  were  chang- 
ing fast.  Making  hasty  mental  notes  she  put  the  colours 
on  strong,  but  in  her  hurry  she  did  not  wait  for  one 
wash  to  dry  before  laying  on  another,  with  the  result 
that  the  scarlet  of  the  fin  ran  into  the  blue  stripes  on  the 
back,  making  a  purple  smear  that  was  not  at  all  like 
anything  in  nature.  The  beautiful  silvery  green  of  the 
scales  she  put  in  in  a  clear  tint,  but  around  the  edges 
was  a  hard  ridge  she  could  not  account  for.  She  began 
to  get  more  and  more  anxious  and  worried.  The  paper 
was  greasy  with  the  constant  erasing  of  the  pencil 
marks  and  took  the  colour  in  little  patches.  In  the  midst 
of  her  perplexity  Bella  came  in  on  tip-toe  to  announce 
that  a  gentleman  wished  to  see  her  in  the  parlour. 

"  A  gentleman,  at  this  hour ! " 

"  He  says  no  stop  long." 

Impatient  and  annoyed  Florence  walked  into  the  sit- 
ting-room where  a  very  embarrassed  young  man  awaited 
[242] 


THE  FISH 

her.  He  introduced  himself  as  Mr.  Lansing  and  it 
wasn't  till  he  explained  that  he  was  a  friend  of  Mr. 
Sprague's  that  she  remembered  having  seen  him  before. 
He  was  one  of  the  two  good  Samaritans  who  attended 
the  miserable  Walter  on  the  memorable  interview  on  the 
veranda. 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  a  moment,"  he  said,  "  but  Mr. 
Sprague  sent  me  this  packet  which  came  by  the  mail 
steamer  and  begged  that  I  would  give  it  to  you  myself." 

"But  I  don't  wish  to  receive  anything  from  Mr. 
Sprague,"  she  said,  refusing  to  touch  it. 

The  young  man  laid  the  package  on  the  table.  "  It  is 
very  important,"  he  said.  "He  was  afraid  you  would 
think  it  was  some  communication  of  his  own  and  he  beg- 
ged me  to  say  that  it  was  your  property." 

While  the  young  girl  stood  looking  at  him  in  bewilder- 
ment, Mr.  Lansing  bowed  himself  out  and  departed. 

She  turned  the  thing  over  in  her  hands.  "  My  prop- 
erty ! "  she  murmured,  pulling  off  the  wrapper.  To  her 
surprise,  a  number  of  letters  fell  out.  Picking  one  up 
she  read  the  superscription,  "Mrs.  Walter  Sprague, 
Huapala  Plantation,  Maui,  Hawaii."  She  understood  it 
all  in  a  flash.  Her  father  had  not  received  her  explana- 
tory letter  and  he  and  all  her  friends  had  taken  it  for 
granted  —  she  shivered  with  horror.  The  name  brought 
her  narrow  escape  more  vividly  to  her  mind  than  any- 
[243] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

thing  else  could  have  done.  On  one  of  the  letters  she 
recognized  the  round,  crisp  black  hand  of  her  father's 
writing.  She  picked  it  up  and  distastefully  tearing  off  the 
envelope  which  she  crumpled  into  a  ball,  she  opened 
the  sheet  and  discovered  the  draft  for  a  thousand  dollars 
made  out  to  Florence  Van  Voorhis.  She  glanced 
through  the  letter  — "  Just  leaving  for  the  Yosemite  — 
am  writing  this  to  catch  the  steamer  in  case  we  go  off 
camping  in  the  mountains.  Don't  want  to  miss  the  mail. 
I  send  the  draft  as  it  is,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  sign  it 
with  your  married  name  and  be  identified  —  Your  old 
Dad  misses  you  — "  She  could  not  read  the  rest,  for  she 
saw  the  words  "  Your  husband  "  and  tore  it  up  hastily. 
Then  she  opened  the  others,  one  by  one;  they  seemed 
to  scorch  her  fingers  and  the  phrases,  "  Tell  dear  Wal- 
ter —  Your  island  home  —  We  wish  you  all  happi- 
ness " —  filled  her  with  misery  and  loathing.  Tucking 
the  draft  into  her  belt  she  looked  about  for  some  way  to 
dispose  of  the  fragments  of  her  letters.  A  thin  coil  of 
smoke  showed  where  Haka  was  burning  dead  leaves  in 
a  corner  of  the  garden.  She  gathered  up  the  torn 
papers,  fled  down  a  side  path  and  snatching  the 
stick  out  of  his  hand  poked  the  hateful  letters  into  the 
middle  of  the  fire.  Then  suddenly  remembering  her 
work  she  ran  back  to  the  bower  and  taking  up  her  draw- 
ing arranged  her  paints  and  turned  to  look  at  the  model. 
[244] 


THE  FISH 

Dismayed  and  surprised,  she  looked  again.  Fish  and 
leaves  and  plate  were  gone.  She  called  to  Bella  who 
rushed  in  terrified  at  the  excited  tones  of  her  voice. 

"Where  is  my  fish?" 

"Oh,"  cried  Bella  blankly,  "I  think  you  all  finish." 

"I  was  not  finished  with  it!  You  should  not  touch 
things  till  I  tell  you." 

"  Mamma  Ross  say  '  you  finish  ? '  I  say  '  yes,  you  all 
finish/  " 

"  I  wasn't  half  done  with  it." 

"  Colour  all  gone.  No  more  red,  no  more  blue." 

"  Don't  talk ;  go  and  bring  it  back  at  once ! " 

"  No  can ! "  cried  Bella,  waving  her  hands  in  the  air 
distressfully. 

"You  must!" 

"No  can!" 

"  Why  can't  you,  in  Heaven's  name  ?  " 

"  Mamma  Ross  eat  him ! " 

For  a  stupefied  moment  Florence  stared  at  the  Portu- 
guese girl.  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  took  my  fish  off 
and  cooked  it?" 

"  No  cook  it,"  said  Bella,  beginning  to  cry.  "  Mamma 
Ross  say  'all  finish?'!  say,  'yes,  all  finish.'  She  say 
'all  right,'  she  eat  him  raw." 

It  had  been  an  agitating  morning.  With  no  sleep  the 
night  before,  the  trouble  with  the  drawing,  and  the  shock 
[245] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

of  receiving  those  letters,  Florence  had  begun  to  feel  un- 
nerved, but  now  this  last  catastrophe  was  too  much.  She 
fell  into  a  rocking-chair  and  wept.  At  the  sight  of  her 
dear  young  lady's  distress,  Bella  began  to  cry  aloud  with 
roars  and  chokes  and  gurgles  of  penitence  and  despair. 

Neither  of  them  noticed  the  sound  of  wheels  on  the 
gravel,  and  were  startled  by  a  heavy  step  on  the  veranda. 
Bella,  still  weeping  aloud,  threw  open  the  door.  Flor- 
ence, the  tears  wet  upon  her  cheeks  looked  up.  It  was 
Kalakaua. 

They  were  all  three  too  astonished  for  a  moment  to 
speak.  The  King  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence.  "  Par- 
don me,"  he  said.  "  I  am  afraid  you  have  had  bad  news. 
I  will  come  another  time." 

"  No,  no,"  cried  Florence,  jumping  up,  "  it  isn't  any- 
thing. I  mean  it  is  only  the  fish  — " 

"That  is  what  brought  me,"  said  Kalakaua  pleas- 
antly. "Punakiki,  Curtis  said,  had  found  a  very  rare 
specimen  from  his  description  of  it,  and  as  I  did  not  feel 
sleepy  after  breakfast,  I  thought  I'd  drive  up  and 
see  how  you  were  getting  on.  Is  this  the  drawing  ?  " 

The  young  artist  checked  a  hasty  impulse  to  spread 
her  hands  out  over  her  morning's  work. 

The  King  regarded  the  extraordinary  design  in  si- 
lence. She  had  managed  to  give  a  hideously  human 
expression  to  the  staring  eye  and  protruding  mouth; 
[246] 


THE  FISH 

instead  of  the  brilliant  colours  of  the  original  it  was 
apparently  painted  in  mud,  and  the  effect  was  not 
improved  by  several  splashes  of  tears. 

"  Is  this  the  fish  ?  "  he  said,  putting  up  his  hand  to  hide 
the  smile  that  quivered  in  the  corner  of  his  mouth.  "  You 
can  never  judge  a  drawing  till  you  see  the  original."  He 
glanced  about  inquiringly. 

Florence  laughed  hysterically.  "  Don't  look  at  it,  Your 
Majesty,"  she  said;  "it  isn't  good.  The  drawing  isn't  a 
bit  like  a  fish  or  anything  else  that  ever  I  saw  on  land  or 
water." 

"Never  mind,"  he  said  kindly.  "It  is  your  first  at- 
tempt. You  will  do  better  another  time.  But  if  you  will 
give  me  the  fish  I  can  have  it  preserved  in  alcohol,  as  it  is 
very  rare." 

Bella  had  backed  into  the  bedroom  at  the  first  sight 
of  the  King. 

"  No  can!"  she  called  out  from  the  doorway,  weeping 
afresh. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  asked  Kalakaua  in  aston- 
ishment. 

"  Mamma  Ross  eat  him ! " 

The  King  laughed.  He  sat  down  to  laugh.  He  tried 
hard  to  repress  it,  but  the  sight  of  the  drawing  propped 
up  on  the  table,  Bella's  purple  countenance,  and  Flor- 
ence's rueful  smile  sent  him  off  again  until  the  tears 
[247] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

rolled  down  his  cheeks.  He  was  wiping  his  eyes  with  his 
handkerchief  and  trying  to  get  back  his  voice  when  the 
door  suddenly  burst  open  and  the  two  Princes  almost 
fell  into  the  room.  They  rushed  at  Florence,  convul- 
sively catching  her  skirts.  Before  they  had  time  to  real- 
ize the  unexpected  presence  of  the  King,  Lulu, 
in  hot  pursuit,  appeared  at  the  doorway  in  a  towering 
fury. 

"  How  dare  you  run  away  from  school  ?  "  she  scream- 
ed. "  I'll  have  you  locked  up  all  day.  You  sha'n't  have  a 
bite  to  eat !  I'll  tell  mother  to  whip  you ! "  And  then  she 
saw  the  King,  and  turned  pale  with  surprise  and 
fright. 

"  This  is  not  the  way  to  speak  to  my  nephews,"  said 
His  Majesty;  "if  they  are  in  fault  they  will  apologize,  I 
know.  What  is  the  matter,  Mana  ?  " 

The  two  boys  stood  up  respectfully,  moving  a  little 
away  from  Florence. 

"We  wanted  to  see  the  fish,  Your  Majesty,"  said 
Mana  gulping  down  his  tears. "  It  was  recess,  and  we 
thought  we  could  run  over  and  just  look  at  it  — " 

"We  could  have  got  back  to  school  in  time,"  said 
Vida.  "Lulu  saw  us  running  and  called  out  to  stop.  We 
would  have  stopped,  Your  Majesty,  only  we  were  in  a 
hurry.  So  we  ran  and  she  ran  after  us.  We  were  bound 
to  see  the  fish." 

[248] 


THE  FISH 

Florence  and  the  King  exchanged  a  glance.  His 
Majesty  tugged  at  his  moustache  and  tears  of  suppressed 
laughter  stood  in  his  eyes. 

"She  slapped  Mana,"  said  Vida.  "But  she  couldn't 
catch  me." 

"I  won't  be  slapped  any  more!"  cried  Mana  de- 
fiantly. "I  won't,  I  won't,  and  I  won't  play 
doll,  and  I  won't  do  crochet,  and  I  won't  sew  on 
patch-work ! " 

"Why,  that  is  girl's  work,"  said  the  King  surprised. 

Lulu  spoke  up  courageously.  "  It  keeps  them  out  of 
mischief,  Your  Majesty.  If  they  had  their  own  way  they 
would  be  running  over  the  flower  beds  and  hurting 
themselves  playing  circus,  and  cutting  their  hands  with 
tools,  and  getting  their  clothes  dirty  — " 

"My  dear,"  said  the  King,  "you  mean  well,  no 
doubt,  but  you  must  let  boys  be  boys.  Let  them  get 
their  clothes  dirty  —  or  wear  them  into  rags  if  they 
like,  but  they  must  play  boys'  games." 

"And  go  barefoot,  Your  Majesty,"  suggested  Mana; 
making  the  most  of  the  occasion. 

"Naturally,"  said  the  King.  "All  children  go  bare- 
footed, and  it  is  the  healthiest  thing  they  can  do." 

"  And  swim  at  Kapena  Falls  ?  "  Mana  went  on  daringly. 

"Aren't  you  allowed  to  go  there?  You  are  not  true 
Hawaiians  if  you  can't  swim." 
[249] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  They  won't  stay  in  the  pond,"  Lulu  explained; "  they 
want  to  jump  off  the  cliff  and  it's  too  high." 

"All  the  other  boys  do,"  said  Vida. 

"What  others  can  do,  Lulu,  they  should  be  allowed 
to  do.  Why,"  the  King  turned  to  Florence,  "  she  is  mak- 
ing molly-coddles  out  of  them." 

"  They  are  too  manly  for  that,  but  she  can  make  them 
very  unhappy." 

"  At  the  end  of  the  month,"  said  the  King,  "  I  intend 
to  send  the  boys  to  a  boarding  school  at  the  Bishop's. 
The  new  term  will  begin  then." 

"  I  have  an  awful  time  every  morning  to  make  them 
go  to  school,"  said  Lulu. 

The  King  looked  at  them  all  thoughtfully  for  a  mo- 
ment, as  his  eyes  travelled  from  the  tearful  little  spitfire 
in  the  doorway  to  the  two  boys  clinging  to  Florence's 
skirts,  and  came  to  a  decision. 

"  Miss  Van  Voorhis,"  he  said,  "  I  am  afraid  the  fish 
will  be  too  difficult  for  you"  —  he  did  not  trust  himself 
to  glance  at  the  drawing  —  "but  would  you  mind 
changing  your  occupation,  and  giving  the  Princes 
a  little  instruction  here  at  home?  I  don't  mean 
to  wear  yourself  out  teaching,  but  just  keep  them 
from  going  behind  in  their  studies,  so  that  they  can 
enter  the  Bishop's  school  on  a  level  with  other  boys  of 
their  class?" 

[250] 


THE  FISH 

" I'd  love  to  do  it!"  cried  Florence,  " and  oh,  I  forgot 
to  tell  you,  my  draft  came  all  right  this  morning  —  it  — 
it  had  been  wrongly  addressed,  and  I  don't  want  any 
salary,  Your  Majesty,  though  I'm  grateful  to  you  all  the 
same.  I'll  teach  the  boys  with  pleasure.  I'm  sure  I  can 
teach  better  than  I  can  draw  —  much  better." 

"  I  shall  be  deeply  indebted  to  you,  Miss  Van  Voor- 
his." 

"  I  only  beg  one  thing  of  Your  Majesty,"  said  Flor- 
ence. "  Please  forget  about  the  fish ! " 


[251] 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEEN 

Lessons 

IT  was  the  day  of  the  great  Palace  Ball  and  a 
pleasant  atmosphere  of  excitement  pervaded  the 
Ross  household.  In  the  little  sewing-room  that 
opened  out  upon  the  banana  plantation,  Emma  was 
busily  tacking  fresh  flounces  on  a  china  silk  ball-dress; 
the  gowns  she  wore  oftenest  and  the  ones  that  need- 
ed constant  repairs  were  those  she  danced  in.  Her  aunt 
had  one  magnificent  white  velvet  holaku  embroidered 
in  seed  pearls  which  was  reserved  for  state  occasions.  It 
had  been  brought  out  of  the  camphor-wood  chest  where 
it  reposed  in  wrappers  of  tissue  paper,  and  laid  out  up- 
on a  sheet,  while  Mrs.  Ross  went  over  it  to  fasten  on  the 
pearls  or  add  new  ones. 

The  relations  between  the  Princes  and  the  deposed 
tyrant  were  somewhat  strained  since  the  King's  visit. 
The  little  girl  had  been  deeply  aggrieved  at  the  unex- 
pected interference  with  her  authority,  but  she  still 
clung  to  the  unshaken  conviction  that  she  was  right.  She 
[252] 


LESSONS 

had  brought  up  the  Princes  according  to  a  theory  and 
she  had  absolute  faith  in  her  own  judgment.  To  do  Lulu 
justice  she  did  not  sulk.  Her  tempers  were  soon  over  and 
she  never  bore  malice.  When  she  slapped  her  charges 
it  was  for  their  own  good,  and  she  only  lost  her  temper 
when  they  refused  to  see  the  wisdom  of  her  actions  or 
tried  to  evade  her  law. 

Vida  and  Mana  were  torn  between  joy  at  their  de- 
liverance and  the  nervous  consciousness  of  being  under 
the  ban  of  Lulu's  displeasure.  Ever  since  they  could  re- 
member the  little  blue-eyed  tyrant  had  ruled  them ;  they 
could  not  realize  their  freedom,  and  wore  a  furtive  ex- 
pression in  her  presence.  Though  Vida  was  the  larger 
and  stronger  of  the  two  boys,  he  had  not  the  spirit  of 
Mana  and  showed  signs  of  weakening;  at  a  word  from 
Lulu  he  would  have  sat  himself  down  to  patch-work 
from  sheer  force  of  habit.  But  the  mild,  poetical  Mana 
had  a  new  light  of  defiance  in  his  eye.  He  had  danced  the 
Carmagnole;  he  had  declared  his  independence 
and  was  prepared  to  defend  his  rights.  It  was  he 
who  insisted  that  they  should  start  the  day  by  going 
barefoot. 

Lulu's  pale  eyes  took  in  the  signs  of  revolt,  but  she 
held  her  head  up  proudly. 

"  If  any  one  calls,"  she  said  in  her  usual  tone  of  au- 
thority, "  mind  you  put  your  shoes  and  stockings  on.  I 
[253] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

don't  like  Missionary  manners.  It  would  mortify  me  if 
you  were  seen  like  that." 

"All  right,  we  will,"  said  Vida  obediently. 

"  I  think  you  might  string  some  of  the  blue  and  red 
beads,"  she  added,  taking  advantage  of  his  meekness. 

"  No,  we  cannot,"  said  Mana  valiantly,  "  we're  going 
to  play  with  the  soldiers  His  Majesty  gave  us." 

Vida  waited  to  see  the  heavens  fall,  but  she  only  said, 
"Well,  don't  jump  on  the  flower  beds  anyway,"  and 
started  off  for  school. 

Florence  had  spent  the  morning  writing  letters  for  the 
mail  which  was  to  leave  the  following  day.  Now  that  her 
stay  in  Honolulu  was  assured  for  some  months  to  come, 
the  events  of  her  broken  engagement  seemed  less  em- 
barrassing to  mention  and  she  filled  pages  to  her  father, 
her  Aunt,  and  several  school  friends,  touching  lightly  on 
her  changed  plans,  but  telling  much  of  her  new  life  and 
surroundings. 

The  blood-stone  ring  lay  very  heavy  on  Florence's 
conscience,  for  she  had  missed  Captain  Leigh-Garret's 
two  calls  since  the  surf -riding  and  had  as  yet  no  oppor- 
tunity of  returning  it  to  him.  However,  she  laid  it  care- 
fully away,  intending  to  wear  it  to  the  ball  and  hand  it 
to  him  with  the  intimation  that  their  acquaintance  must 
cease.  She  did  not  wish  to  get  into  any  further 
entanglement  with  that  bold,  young  man. 
[254] 


LESSONS 

She  had  heard  no  word  from  Max,  but  after  lunch 
when  she  and  the  Princes  had  settled  themselves 
under  the  tamarind  tree  to  study,  she  was  not  surprised 
to  see  him  coming  up  the  gravel  path. 

"We  are  very  busy,"  she  said,  as  he  came  over  to 
where  they  were  sitting  and  shook  hands.  "We  are 
studying." 

Max  threw  himself  on  the  grass  beside  them.  "Fa 
a  very  good  teacher,"  he  said.  "  Please  let  me  stay.  I 
won't  interrupt  at  all  and  I  may  be  a  great  help.  I  have 
a  fund  of  information  on  every  known  subject  that  is 
perfectly  amazing." 

"  We  are  really  serious,"  she  protested. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Max,  gravely  settling  himself  com- 
fortably, his  head  on  his  hand.  "What's  the  first  les- 
son?" 

"  Reading ! "  cried  both  boys  at  once.  "  We  always  be- 
gin with  reading  at  school." 

"  Then  we  will  go  on  with  the  lesson  you  were  to  have 
had  to-day,"  said  Florence. 

Vida  opened  the  book,  found  the  place  and  read  in  a 
loud,  flat,  expressionless  voice: 

"Mary  Cary's  two  canaries 
Sing  and  chirp  to  her. 
Pussy  cat,  do  you  hear  that? 
Pussy  says,  'purr,  purr.' " 
[255] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

He  handed  it  on  to  his  brother  who  continued  in  the 
same  key : 

"  Gone  are  Mary's  two  canaries, 
Killed  and  eaten,  too. 
Pussy  cat,  did  you  do  that? 
Pussy  says,  '  mew,  mew.'" 

"  Is  that  all  the  lesson  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"Yes,"  they  both  answered. 

Florence  looked  at  Max.  "  Isn't  that  silly  stuff  to  give 
intelligent  children  to  read!"  she  exclaimed.  "Here, 
give  me  the  book."  She  turned  over  the  leaves,  scorn- 
fully reading  a  few  extracts  here  and  there.  "  'Alice,  May, 
Joe  and  Susie  took  a  walk  in  the  woods.  Alice  and  May 
found  some  pretty  red  blossoms.'  *  I  have  a  kitten,  it's 
name  is  Sharp.'  *  Fred  has  a  puppy,  it's  name  is  Snap. ' ' 

"I  have  a  friend  and  her  name  is  Florence,"  said 
Christopher,  laughing.  "  I  have  a  steam  launch  and  it's 
name  is  Tut-Tut.  I  have  a  valet  and  his  name  is  Abdul 
—  I  have  a  plantation  — " 

"  I'll  send  you  home  pretty  soon  if  you  don't  behave," 
said  the  young  school-mistress  severely. 

"There  are  some  questions  the  teacher  asks,"  re- 
marked Vida. 

She  read  them  out.  "'Did  May  find  some  pretty  red 
blossoms  ? ' '  What  is  your  kitten's  name  ? ' '  What  name 
did  Fred  give  his  puppy  ? ' " 

[256] 


LESSONS 

"It's  not  very  interesting,"  said  Vida  as  Florence 
threw  the  book  down  in  disgust. 

Mana  laughed  roguishly.  "  Did  Mama  Ross  eat  the 
fish  ?  Did  the  fish  look  like  Princess  Ruth  ?  * 

"  You  see  how  you  are  demoralizing  my  school ! "  said 
Florence,  as  the  two  boys  rolled  on  the  grass  in  delight 
at  their  joke. 

"  Why  not  get  some  real  story  like  '  Robinson  Crusoe  * 
or  *  The  Arabian  Nights/  "  said  Max.  "  Something  that 
has  spirit  in  it  ?  " 

"  I  have  an  old  copy  of  'The  Swiss  Family  Robinson/  " 
said  Florence.  "  Vida,  will  you  go  and  get  it  ?  It's  the  one 
with  the  ragged  blue  cover  on  my  shelf." 

When  he  had  brought  it  she  handed  the  book  to 
Mana.  "  Now,"  she  said,  "  read  till  I  say  stop." 

He  began.  "  *  Six  days  the  storm  raged  with  unbridled 
fury.  On  the  seventh,  far  from  showing  any  signs  of 
abatement  it  seemed  to  increase  in  violence.'"  He 
made  heavy  weather  with  the  long  words  but  ploughed 
valiantly  on,  spurred  by  the  interest  of  the  first  sentence; 
Vida  pricked  up  his  ears.  " '  We  were  driven  towards  the 
south-east  and  no  one  knew  in  what  region  we  should 
find  ourselves;  the  ship,  all  of  whose  masts  had  gone 
by  the  board,  leaked  heavily;  her  crew,  spent  with 
so  many  weary  days  and  sleepless  nights,  no  longer 
addressed  themselves  to  a  toil  which  they  considered 
[2S7] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

useless;  instead  of  the  usual  oaths  or  noisy  songs  only 
tardy  ejaculations  of  devotion  might  now  be  heard;  in 
a  word,  the  alarm,  the  terror  was  general,  and  while 
recommending  their  souls  to  God's  mercy,  everybody 
thought  only  how  they  might  save  their  own  lives.' " 

"  Aue!  *  cried  Vida.  "  Isn't  that  lovely ! "  and  took  the 
next  paragraph.  Max  insisted  upon  reading  one  too, 
which  he  did  with  great  seriousness  and  expression. 
When  the  sailors  had  deserted  the  ship  and  the  Robin- 
son family  had  made  themselves  life  preservers  of  old 
casks  and  boxes,  Florence  called  a  halt  for  spelling, 
which  was  a  sudden  drop  from  the  intense  interest  of 
the  story.  But  Christopher  suggested  that  the  Princes 
choose  six  hard  words  for  each  other  and  that  Florence 
should  pick  out  the  same  number  for  himself,  and  as  he 
misspelled  them  and  had  to  be  corrected,  the  lesson 
had  all  the  glamour  of  a  game. 

Australia  was  the  subject  chosen  for  geography.  They 
laid  the  book  open  and  copied  the  map  in  pebbles  on  the 
grass.  While  the  Princes  were  doing  this  Florence  racked 
her  brains  for  any  scraps  of  knowledge  she  had  ever 
gleaned  of  the  land  of  the  eucalyptus  and  kangaroo. 

"  It  is  hot  in  Australia  in  December  and  cold  in  May," 
she  said.  "  The  rivers  run  away  from  the  sea  instead  of 
towards  it,  and  there  are  miles  and  miles  of  grazing 
country." 

[258] 


LESSONS 

"  And  rabbits,"  said  Vida  unexpectedly. 

"They  are  as  bad  as  the  minah  birds  here,"  said 
Mana.  "Since  somebody  brought  those  nasty  black 
cheeky  things  here  all  the  beautiful  island  birds  have 
disappeared." 

"  It's  the  same  with  flowers,"  said  Max.  "  You  know 
the  lantanna?  It  was  brought  here  in  a  pot  to  grow  in  a 
missionary's  window  and  it  spread  and  spread  till  it  has 
ruined  acres  of  my  coffee  land.  It  grows  as  high  as  a  man, 
and  solid  like  a  brick  wall." 

"Old  Kuliana,"  said  Vida,  "one  of  my  Aunt's  ser- 
vants, says  the  minah  bird  and  the  lantanna  are  like  the 
white  people,  and  bye-and-bye  they  will  crowd  the  is- 
lands till  there  won't  be  any  natives  left." 

The  conversation  was  hastily  brought  back  to  Aus- 
tralia. Max  gave  a  thrilling  account  of  a  convict  ship 
going  out  to  Botany  Bay;  and  told  them  of  the  beautiful 
city  of  Sydney  with  its  stone  quays  and  gardens  on  the 
edge  of  the  water;  and  described  the  land-locked 
harbour,  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world. 

"  I'd  love  to  see  it,"  said  Florence.  "  I  never  thought 
much  of  foreign  lands  when  I  was  at  home,  but  coming 
to  Honolulu  has  given  me  a  taste  for  travel  and  now  I 
want  to  see  more  strange  countries." 

Max  looked  unusually  handsome  as  he  lay  on  the 
grass  in  his  white  flannels ;  he  had  thrown  his  straw  hat 
[259] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

on  a  branch  of  the  tree  and  a  shaft  of  sunlight  touched 
his  hair,  thick  and  slightly  ruffled,  of  an  even  shade  of 
grey.  There  was  a  definite  purpose  in  the  eyes  that 
looked  up  at  her  so  steadily  from  under  the  straight 
black  brows,  and  a  glow  of  suppressed  feeling  warmed 
the  ruddy  sunburn  of  his  cheek.  "  You  have  only  to  give 
the  word,"  he  said. 

"  Have  you  a  magic  carpet  ?  "  asked  Mana. 

"  I  don't  know  yet,"  said  Max.  "  It  all  depends  on  the 
word  of  a  beautiful  Princess." 

"  Perhaps  he  means  Flossie,"  said  Vida.  "  She's  only 
a  match-girl." 

"She's  a  school-teacher,"  said  Florence,  "and  our 
next  lesson  is  arithmetic." 

While  the  boys  lay  prone  on  the  grass  working  busily 
at  their  sums,  the  young  girl  told  Max  of  her  experiences 
as  an  artist,  of  the  safe  arrival  of  her  draft,  and  described 
the  visit  of  the  King  and  how  she  came  to  undertake 
the  r&e  of  governess.  It  was  a  confidential  talk,  hardly 
above  a  whisper,  for  they  were  careful  not  to  disturb 
the  young  students;  she  told  her  story  gaily,  in  little 
disconnected  sentences,  and  Max  laughed  softly  as  he 
listened,  looking  up  at  her  half  averted  face;  any  one 
could  have  heard  the  words,  but  there  was  a  tone 
in  both  their  voices,  an  unconscious  tenderness  and 
warmth,  that  would  have  betrayed  them  at  once  as  lovers. 
[260] 


LESSONS 

"I  wanted  to  see  you  alone  to-day,"  he  murmured. 
"  I  have  something  to  tell  you,  and  to-night  at  the  ball 
I  know  you'll  be  so  much  in  request  I  won't  have  a  ghost 
of  a  chance." 

"  I'll  try  to  remember  to  keep  a  dance  for  you.  Shall  I 
make  a  note  of  it  ? '  Jot  down  a  memo,'  as  Lulu  says  ?  " 

"  Just  tell  me  one  thing  honestly.  I  never  did  believe 
a  word  of  Honolulu  gossip,  but  you  don't  care  a  rap  for 
Captain  Leigh-Garrett,  do  you  ?  " 

"  Three  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-three  dol- 
lars and  thirty  cents ! "  shouted  Vida,  throwing  down  his 
pencil. 

"No,  no,"  cried  Mana,  "it's  hogsheads  not  dollars!" 

"  Tell  me,"  said  Max,  sitting  up  to  take  the  slates. 

Some  latent  instinct  of  feminine  coquetry  prompted 
Florence  to  say  decidedly,  "  I  like  him  very  much,  in- 
deed!" 

Max  smiled  imperturbably.  "I  don't  believe  a 
word  of  it,"  he  said.  "  He  isn't  your  kind  at  all." 

Bella  came  across  the  grass  from  the  cook-house  bear- 
ing a  tea-tray,  followed  by  Mrs.  Ross  and  Emma  from 
the  sewing-room.  Lulu  in  a  clean  starched  pinafore,  her 
ashen  hair  smoothly  braided  into  two  tight  little  pig- 
tails, sat  down  primly  beside  Max,  and  began  sorting 
buttons  for  a  long  string  she  was  collecting.  The  Princes 
slipped  off  to  the  summer-house  and  were  soon  busy 
[261] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

with  hammer  and  saw  converting  it  into  a  theatre.  Sev- 
eral times  the  little  girl  hinted  that  they  were  making 
too  great  a  noise  and  would  be  better  employed  sewing 
on  a  doll's  quilt  or  helping  her  string  buttons,  but  Max's 
presence  and  the  memory  of  the  King's  remarks  re- 
strained her. 

"  I  saw  some  bustles  in  town  the  other  day,"  said  Mrs. 
Ross  plaintively,  serving  the  tea.  "  I  do  hope  they  aren't 
the  fashion  again.  Every  time  the  Suez  comes  in  you 
see  some  new  and  silly  change." 

"There  were  six  boxes  from  Paris  on  the  steamer 
this  time,"  said  Lulu,  "for  the  Ah  Sue  girls.  They're 
sure  to  be  ball  dresses  and  I  suppose  they'll  wear  'em 
to-night.  Mind  you  tell  me  what  they  are  like." 

"The  Russians  are  to  take  the  lead  to-night,"  said 
Max,  "for  this  dance  is  given  in  honour  of  the  Raz- 
boinik.  Do  you  know  who  the  Russian  Consul  is  ?  " 

"Mr.  Lawson!"  cried  Lulu.  "Haven't  you  been  to 
see  them  yet?" 

"Fortunately  I  made  a  dinner  call  there  last  week." 

"You'd  better  be  looking  up  the  Japanese  Commis- 
sion," said  Lulu. 

"Why?"  asked  Emma  and  Mrs.  Ross,  both  deeply 
interested. 

"  Count  Tatsu  told  me  there  was  a  Japanese  war-ship 
on  her  way  here.  They  got  the  news  by  the  Suez." 
[262] 


LESSONS 

"There!"  cried  Mrs.  Ross,  "I  meant  to  have  called 
at  the  Commissioner's  yesterday.  We'll  go  to-morrow, 
though  I  hate  to  follow  the  crowd." 

"Then  why  go?"  asked  Florence;  "I  don't  under- 
stand." 

"When  the  ship  gets  here,"  said  Mrs.  Ross,  "the 
Japanese  Commissioner  will  give  balls  and  entertain- 
ments in  honour  of  the  officers,  and  if  you  haven't 
called  you  won't  be  asked.  There  will  be  a  perfect  rush 
now." 

"  If  I  were  they,"  said  Florence  laughing,  "  I  would 
not  invite  the  people  who  only  came  after  they 
heard  the  news." 

"They  are  obliged  to,"  said  Mrs.  Ross.  "It  is  of- 
ficial." 

"We  have  as  many  consuls  and  commissioners  here 
as  there  are  nations  under  the  sun,"  said  Max.  "  One 
of  my  clerks  in  the  bank  is  Consul  for  Mexico,  and  he's 
a  Down  East  Yankee." 

"I  know,  when  we  heard  the  Vanadis  was  coming, 
with  Prince  Oscar  on  board,"  said  Mrs.  Ross,  "there 
was  a  great  commotion  to  find  out  who  the  Swedish 
Consul  was.  He  and  his  wife  were  very  quiet  people 
who  did  not  go  out  much.  They  must  have  been 
surprised  when  all  Honolulu  streamed  in  at  their 
gate." 

[263] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"They  entertained  beautifully  when  the  ship  did 
come  in,"  said  Emma.  "  With  a  lanai  for  dancing  and  a 
band  stand  in  the  garden." 

"  Like  the  one  at  the  Russian  Consulate  now,"  added 
Lulu. 

Mrs.  Ross  laughed.  "  When  you  hear  that  a  foreign 
ship  is  expected,  it  is  strange  to  see  the  little  nobodies 
who  suddenly  bloom  into  bowers  and  band-stands  and 
gilt-edged  invitation  cards." 

"  If  I  were  you,"  said  Lulu  sagely,  "  I'd  go  and  call 
whenever  I  saw  a  lanai  going  up  in  anybody's  garden." 

The  little  girl  was  restless  and  unhappy.  She  missed 
the  companionship  of  the  Princes  and  her  eyes  turned 
more  than  once  in  the  direction  of  the  summer-house. 
Finally  the  sound  of  hammering  was  interrupted  by 
ecstatic  shrieks  of  delight  that  drew  her  irresistibly  to 
the  spot.  She  walked  slowly,  assuming  her  usual  air  of 
disdain,  but  listened  attentively  when  Vida  explained 
that  they  were  making  a  stage. 

"  We  are  going  to  give  a  performance  and  do  our  cir- 
cus tricks,"  said  Mana  with  a  very  independent  air. 

"You  ought  to  have  a  curtain,"  suggested  Lulu. 

"  We'll  hang  up  a  sheet." 

"That  won't  be  nice  at  all.  There's  a  lot  of  cretonne 
up  in  the  garret.  If  you  like  I'll  get  it  and  sew  a  cur- 
tain for  you." 

[264] 


LESSONS 

"Thank  you,"  said  Vida  politely. 

"I  wouldn't  do  circus  if  I  were  you,"  said  Lulu. 
"I'll  tell  you  what!"  she  went  on,  assuming  charge 
of  the  whole  affair,  "we'll  play  'Bluebeard!'  I'll  be 
Fatima,  and  Vida  can  be  Bluebeard  and  Mana  will  be 
the  brother  that  comes  to  the  rescue ! " 

"  That  will  be  nice,"  said  Mana  doubtfully. 

"Oh,  it  will  be  splendid!"  cried  Lulu.  "I  know  how 
to  make  the  heads  of  the  murdered  wives!  You  cut 
holes  in  a  sheet  and  get  people  to  stick  their  heads 
through  and  you  can  hang  their  hair  up  to  make-be- 
lieve nails  and  sew  stripes  of  red  flannel  for  blood.  It 
looks  awful ! " 

This  gory  picture  won  the  boys,  heart  and  soul,  and 
soon  all  three  were  busily  at  work  over  the  theatre  on 
the  best  possible  terms. 


[265] 


CHAPTER  NINETEEN 

The  Palace  Ball 

ALL  the  carriages  in  Honolulu  seemed  to  be  go- 
ing in  the  direction  of  the  palace.  Every  form 
of  equipage,  from  the  British  Commissioner's 
fine  barouche  with  coachman  and  footmen  in  livery,  to 
the  omnibus  chartered  by  the  bachelors  from  up  the 
Valley.  Crowds  on  foot  wended  their  way  in  the  same 
direction ;  girls  in  fluffy  gowns  with  bits  of  lace  thrown 
over  their  heads,  young  men  in  evening  dress,  with- 
out overcoats,  mingled  with  the  streams  of  natives  who 
crowded  about  the  gates  to  watch  the  arriving  guests. 
The  great  building,  with  its  wide  stone  colonnades 
sparkled  like  a  jewel  against  the  dark  background  of 
the  night.  The  fascade  was  decorated  with  bunting  and 
evergreen;  windows  glittered  with  light,  and  through  the 
noble  entrance,  draped  with  velvet  hangings,  a  dazzling 
illumination  poured  down  upon  the  stairway. 

Florence  looked  out  upon  the  scene  with  great  interest. 
She   had  been  but  once  before  to  the  palace,   and 
[266] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

then  only  on  a  quiet  morning  and  had  no  idea  of  its 
magnificence.  The  King,  whom  she  had  come  to  know 
informally  and  was  beginning  to  regard  as  a  friend, 
seemed  to  grow  suddenly  remote  surrounded  by  this 
splendour;  the  footmen,  in  scarlet  plush,  silk  stock- 
ings and  powdered  hair,  who  stood  in  rows  on  the 
steps;  the  arriving  guests  in  their  trailing  ball  dresses; 
the  groups  of  equerries  in  uniform,  all  added  to  her 
feeling  of  awe. 

Mrs.  Ross's  white  velvet  made  a  grand  showing  as  she 
swept  up  the  stairs  between  the  rows  of  footmen  on  the 
arm  of  an  aide-de-camp  who  had  run  down  to  meet  her. 

Florence  found  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  waiting  for 
her  as  they  came  out  of  the  crowded  dressing-room 
into  the  grand  hall.  She  was  prepared  to  meet  the 
young  man  coldly  and  formally,  but  amid  the  unusual 
surroundings,  the  music  and  lights  and  the  excitement 
of  her  first  grand  ball,  she  found  herself  smiling  very 
amiably  upon  the  tall  young  Englishman  in  the  fine 
uniform. 

"  Please  be  generous  to-night,"  he  said.  "  Don't  throw 
over  old  friends  for  new  ones." 

"  You  are  neither,"  she  answered,  looking  up  at  him 
with  a  smiling  glance  that  took  the  sting  out  of  the  words. 

"  I  am  a  friend,  and  a  good  one,  as  you'll  find  out," 
he  said  earnestly.  "  Don't  give  away  all  your  dances.  I 
[267] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

have  to  stay  here  to  look  after  the  crush  and  I  won't 
be  on  hand  to  claim  my  share,  so  save  me  three  dances, 
please." 

"It's  time  to  go  in,"  said  Mrs.  Ross,  touching  Flor- 
ence with  her  fan. 

"  Oh,  Captain,"  said  the  young  girl  over  her  shoulder 
to  Dick,  "I  forgot  to  tell  you,  I've  brought  your 
ring!" 

He  nodded  as  he  went  off  to  receive  a  group  of  new 
arrivals.  A  crowd  of  people  were  waiting  at  the  throne- 
room  door,  a  couple  of  aides-de-camp  arranging  the  or- 
der of  their  entrance.  Emma  stooped,  gave  a  final  touch 
to  her  aunt's  train,  and  then,  waiting  a  few  minutes  to 
give  the  preceding  party  time,  they  received  the  signal, 
and  Mrs.  Ross  entered  the  room  followed  by  the  two  girls. 
At  the  further  end  of  a  noble  and  stately  hall  were  two 
gilt  chairs  on  a  platform,  overhung  with  a  canopy  of  red 
velvet  edged  with  ermine  and  surmounted  by  a  golden 
crown.  At  the  steps  of  the  throne  the  royal  family  stood 
in  a  row  to  receive  the  guests:  the  King  and  Queen, 
Princess  Liliuokalani  and  Princess  Likelike,  their  bril- 
liant costumes  reflected  in  the  waxed  surface  of  the  floor. 
The  first  comers,  who  had  already  made  their  bow, 
stood  along  the  sides  of  the  room  or  gathered  in  groups 
at  the  open  French  windows,  watching  the  scene  with 
the  greatest  interest. 

[268] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

The  length  of  that  hall  was  a  long  walk  to  take  before 
the  eyes  of  so  many  spectators,  but  Florence  kept  a 
little  behind  Mrs.  Ross  and  was  sustained  by  that  lady's 
self-possession. 

The  Chamberlain  announced  their  names  in  a  low 
voice;  Mrs.  Ross  slowly  and  impressively  sank  almost  to 
her  knees  before  the  King;  Emma  followed,  and  when  it 
came  to  Florence's  turn  she  could  hardly  believe  that 
the  magnificent  monarch  in  scarlet  and  gold,  sword  and 
sash,  his  broad  breast  sparkling  with  diamond  orders 
was  the  same  kindly  gentleman  she  had  met  before.  As  she 
rose  trembling  from  her  deep  curtsy  she  caught  a  brief 
friendly  smile  from  His  Majesty  and  then,  following  the 
example  of  Mrs.  Ross  and  Emma,  she  bowed  to  the 
Queen,  to  Princess  Liliuokalani,  and  Princess  Likelike. 

It  was  with  almost  a  gasp  of  relief  that  she  turned  to 
join  the  others  and  watch  the  new  arrivals.  She  found 
herself  near  Lieutenant  Todd  who  was  evidently  wait- 
ing for  her.  He  was  a  new  surprise.  In  his  uniform  on 
board  the  Mohawk,  he  looked  rather  well,  but  in  the 
full  dress  of  the  United  States  Navy  he  was  imposing. 

"I  feel  like  a  ship  that  has  just  come  into  harbour 
after  a  storm,"  she  whispered  to  him.  "  That  was  a  terri- 
ble ordeal !  See  how  my  hands  are  trembling ! " 

"We  always  come  early,"  said  Lieutenant  Danby, 
one  of  a  little  group  of  glittering  Mohawks.  "  I  wouldn't 
[269] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

miss  this  show  for  anything.  You  should  have  seen  the 
entrance  of  the  Razboiniks  —  they  came  in  a  body  — 
and  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  could  not  hold  a  candle 
to  'em.  There  are  some  new  comers  —  tourists  —  I'm 
waiting  for  them.  It's  great  fun  to  see  their  bows  to 
royalty." 

"I  always  suffer  too  much  for  other  people,"  said 
Florence.  "  Here  come  the  Bonner  girls." 

"You  needn't  waste  any  suffering  on  them,"  said 
Lieutenant  Danby.  "They  could  give  us  all  points  on 
self-possession." 

As  the  two  girls  sailed  down  the  hall  with  a  manly 
swagger  that  swirled  their  trains  from  side  to  side,  there 
were  whispered  remarks  on  their  appearance,  flattering 
and  otherwise. 

"Weren't  you  frightened?"  Florence  asked,  as  the 
Bonner  girls  joined  the  group. 

"Not  a  bit!"  said  Polly.  "I  love  it.  Don't  you  re- 
member, Betty,  when  we  made  our  bow  three  times  at 
the  King's  birthday  reception?  We  ran  around  and 
joined  the  tail  of  the  procession  until  Curtis  made  us 
stop.  It  was  great  fun.  The  King  received  us  each  time 
as  though  he  had  never  seen  us  before." 

Numbers  of  guests  were  now  arriving.  Native  ladies  in 
silk  and  velvet  holakus,  with  head-dresses  of  pearls  and 
ostrich  plumes;  pretty  girls  ranging  in  colour  from  ma- 
[270] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

hogany  brown  and  cafe-au-lait  to  the  fairest  pink  and 
white;  members  of  the  Japanese  Commission,  in  cor- 
rect evening  dress,  missionaries,  consuls,  naval  officers 
of  Germany,  England  and  the  United  States  in  full  uni- 
form entered  in  small  groups  or  singly,  walking  the 
length  of  the  hall  and  making  their  bows  to  royalty 
under  the  gaze  of  those  who  had  arrived  before  them; 
all  more  or  less  conscious  of  the  scrutiny  and  whispered 
comments. 

"Look!  Look!"  said  Betty  Bonner,  "here  come 
some  strangers ! " 

A  stout,  bald  gentleman,  very  red  and  nervous  looking, 
was  walking  up  the  hall  with  his  wife,  a  frail  hatchet- 
faced  lady,  who  clung  convulsively  to  his  arm.  They  at- 
tempted to  bow  to  the  Chamberlain,  but  Curtis  deftly 
faced  them  toward  the  King.  Still  arm-in-arm  they 
bobbed  to  the  Queen,  and  to  the  Princess  Liliuokalani, 
and  then,  with  a  sudden  beaming  look  of  relief,  they 
turned  and  backed  into  the  Princess  Likelike,  not  know- 
ing that  she  belonged  to  the  royal  semicircle. 

"Look  at  the  Ah  Sue  girls,"  whispered  Mrs.  Ross. 
"  Try  to  remember  the  dresses  for  Lulu." 

All  the  women  studied  the  new  arrivals  attentively  as 

they  trailed  in  with  that  languid  assurance  that  only 

perfectly  fitting  Paris  gowns  can  give.  There  were  three 

extremely  pretty  girls,  followed  by  their  father,  a  Chi- 

[271] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

nese  mandarin  in  silk  Oriental  clothes,  shaved  head 
and  long  queue.  After  him  came  his  son  familiarly 
called  Billy  Ah  Sue,  a  Yale  man,  in  faultless  evening 
dress,  his  straight  hair  parted  down  the  middle. 

"They  certainly  are  lovely  creatures,"  said  Florence, 
referring  to  the  girls. 

"And  we'll  be  having  them  at  our  balls  for  the 
next  ten  years  to  come,"  said  tMrs.  Ross,  "  for  there 
are  a  lot  more  in  the  nursery,  or  I  should  say  under  the 
banyan  tree,  for  that's  where  you  always  see  the  baby 
Ah  Sues." 

Captain  Leigh-Garrett  had  worked  his  way  round 
behind  the  throne  and  in  and  out  among  the  crowd,  to 
where  Florence  was  standing. 

*'  I'm  deserting  my  post  for  your  sake,"  he  whispered, 
"  and  I'm  just  in  time ! "  he  added,  "  to  see  Sally  make 
her  grand  entrance.  You  can  trust  her  for  coming 
late." 

All  eyes  turned  towards  the  door  where  Mrs.  Landry 
appeared  in  a  rose-coloured  gown  with  a  diamond  tiara 
on  her  yellow  hair.  Florence  took  her  in  with  a  glance  of 
admiration  that  changed  somewhat  as  she  recognized 
the  man  who  followed  as  Christopher  Maxwell.  They 
were  a  handsome  couple  and  a  buzz  of  comment  followed 
their  progress  up  the  hall. 

"  She'll  capture  him  yet,"  whispered  Dick. 
[272] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

Just  behind  them  a  voice  murmured:  "Wealth 
and  beauty  make  a  good  combination,"  and  then, 
very  distinctly  came  the  reply  in  feminine  accents: 
"  They  say  the  engagement  is  to  be  announced  this 
evening." 

Florence  suddenly  realized  that  she  had  taken  Max 
very  seriously,  against  the  widow's  advice.  She  had  been 
warned  not  to  believe  in  idle  compliments  and  what  else 
had  he  offered  her  ?  Only  agreeable  nothings  when  they 
were  alone  together,  but  in  public  he  was  always  to  be 
found  by  Mrs.  Landry's  side.  She  remembered  how  she 
had  seen  them  together  on  the  Mohawk. 

"  Don't  forget  that  you've  given  me  the  first  dance," 
said  Dick. 

"As  many  as  you  like,"  was  the  unexpected  reply. 

"And  a  polka?" 

"Yes." 

"  And  the  supper  dance  ?  " 

"  The  supper  dance  is  mine,"  said  the  resolute  voice 
of  Christopher  Maxwell,  who  had  come  up  behind  them. 
"  And  you  promised  me  the  first  waltz,  Miss  Van  Voor- 
his." 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  his  coldly.  "I'm  engaged  to 
Captain  Leigh-Garrett  for  that,"  she  said. 

He  looked  surprised  at  her  tone  and  slightly  puzzled. 
"  But  not  the  supper  dance,"  he  said. 
[273] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"As  you  like,"  she  answered  over  her  shoulder,  and 
turned  to  Dick.  The  music  had  begun.  "Isn't  this 
ours  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,  this  is  the  royal  quadrille,  it's  too  good  for  the 
likes  of  us.  We  all  have  to  stand  up  respectfully  and 
look  on." 

Florence  had  been  cheered  by  Max's  determined  atti- 
tude, but  the  words  she  had  overheard  rankled  in  her 
heart.  A  spirit  of  pride  upheld  her,  and  her  one  idea 
was  to  prevent  his  seeing  that  she  cared  in  any  way. 
After  one  quick  glance  at  Captain  Leigh-Garrett,  Max- 
well stepped  back;  he  looked  hurt,  and  though  he  lis- 
tened deferentially  to  Mrs.  Ross,  his  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  Florence  who  still  stood  by  Dick's  side. 

The  royal  quadrille  was  forming  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor.  The  King,  with  the  Russian  Consul's  wife,  faced 
the  Captain  of  the  Razboinik,  whose  partner  was  a  lit- 
tle Japanese  lady  in  mauve  satin. 

"  That  is  the  Commissioner's  wife,"  whispered  Dick, 
"she's  coming  to  the  front  just  now  because  a  Japan- 
ese ship  is  expected  in." 

The  Premier,  an  elderly,  hook-nosed  personage,  who 
looked  like  Cardinal  Richelieu,  danced  with  the  pretty 
and  gay  little  Princess  Likelike,  leaving  the  Russian 
Consul,  a  small  lean  man,  and  a  massive  lady  of  rank 
to  complete  the  set. 

[274] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

"This  is  the  first  appearance  of  the  Premier  on  the 
dancing  floor,"  whispered  Dick  to  Florence. 

"The  Consul's  wife  looks  fearfully  nervous,"  she 
answered.  "It  must  be  awful  to  dance  with  all  of  us 
looking  on  and  making  remarks." 

The  band  played  the  opening  bars  of  the  "  Likelike 
Quadrille."  Everybody  bowed.  That  was  quite  satis- 
factory. The  first  four  should  cross  over  but  the  Con- 
sul's wife,  clutching  the  King's  hand,  marched  resolutely 
forward  and  backward.  His  Majesty,  who  knew  the 
figures  of  the  quadrille  perfectly,  was  too  polite  to  resist, 
and  allowed  himself  to  be  led  with  imperturbable 
dignity.  The  Japanese  lady,  throwing  her  mauve  train 
over  her  arm,  took  the  most  extraordinary  little  bird- 
like  hops  with  a  countenance  of  unmoved  serenity.  The 
Russian  Captain,  a  tall  man  with  fiery  red  whiskers  and 
superabundant  vitality,  dashed  forth  to  cross  over,  when, 
seeing  the  manoeuvres  of  the  opposite  couple,  he  did  the 
same,  his  little  partner  following  in  hops.  Several  aides 
skirted  about,  like  referees  at  a  prize-fight,  skipping 

and  gesticulating  and  very  evidently  whispering  in- 

i 
structions. 

Florence  stood  looking  on,  slowly  waving  her  fan,  to 

all  outward  appearance  unmoved;  but  the  scene  was 

only  a  blur  of  colour  before  her  eyes.  She  remembered 

the  quick  glance  Max  had  given  Dick,  the  surprise  and 

[275] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

reproach  in  his  voice;  she  was  angry,  proud,  a  little 
frightened,  and  felt  a  sudden  elation  of  reckless  high 
spirits. 

The  sides  started.  Princess  Likelike  and  the  na- 
tive lady  sallied  forth  at  the  first  note  of  the  music, 
doing  the  figure  correctly  themselves  but  entirely  de- 
serting their  partners.  The  old  Premier  bowed  in  all 
directions,  visibly  bewildered  by  the  buzzing  aides,  while 
the  little  Consul  executed  a  pas  seul. 

The  royal  quadrille  was  always  cut  to  four  figures, 
and  then,  without  any  preamble  or  flourish,  the  music 
flowed  into  the  cadence  of  "My  Love  for  You,  O 
Ikino." 

Dick  and  Florence  made  one  circuit  of  the  room,  but 
he  was  an  awkward  dancer  and  his  partner  impatiently 
suggested  that  they  go  out  on  the  terrace  and  see  the 
electric  lights  in  the  garden. 

The  young  girl  perched  on  the  wide  balustrade  while 
Dick  leaned  against  a  stone  pillar.  He  was  serious  and 
there  was  a  note  of  agitation  in  his  voice  as  he  said: 
"You've  treated  me  very  shabbily,  Miss  Van  Voorhis, 
and  I  haven't  done  a  thing  to  deserve  it." 

"  I've  treated  you  beautifully,"  she  replied.  "  I  meant 

to  have  given  you  a  lecture,  and  I'd  made  up  my 

mind  never  to  see  you  again  under  any  circumstances 

if  I  could  avoid  it,  and  here  I've  allowed  myself  to  be 

[276] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

pushed  and  jostled  and  trampled  on  when  I  might  have 
chosen  a  partner  who  could  dance." 

"  Now  you're  guying  me,  but  you  know  what  I  mean. 
You  wouldn't  even  look  at  me  Saturday  night  or  go  in 
the  same  boat  with  me  at  the  surf-riding." 

"How  could  I  choose?"  she  said.  "I  had  to  take 
what  was  given  me  and  Mr.  Maxwell  — " 

"Max  had  a  quarrel  with  Sally  that  night,  just 
one  of  their  tiffs,  and  you  thought  he  was  de- 
voted to  you.  She  told  me  herself  she'd  refused 
to  go  into  the  luau  with  him  and  that  was  why  he 
asked  you.  Didn't  you  notice  that  they  weren't  on 
speaking  terms  ?  " 

The  young  girl  did  not  answer.  It  was  true,  she 
thought  quickly;  Max  had  not  exchanged  a  word 
with  the  widow  that  evening  and  Dick  was  nearer 
right  than  he  was  aware  of,  for  she  had  thought  that  — 
that  — 

"  You  don't  know  your  real  friends,"  Dick  went  on 
reproachfully;  "you  should  have  seen  through  such  a 
transparent  thing  as  that,  and  you  ought  to  know  me 
better.  I  thought  you  could  read  me  like  a  book." 

"  Oh,"  she  answered  nervously,  "  I  don't  look  below 
the  surface.  If  people  are  nice  on  the  outside  I  think 
they  are  good  all  the  way  through.  I  judge  character  by 
eyelashes." 

[277] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Don't  misjudge  me,"  he  said,  taking  her  remarks 
all  to  himself;  "  I'm  no  account  I  know,  if  my  eyelashes 
are  long,  but  I'm  a  better  man  since  I  met  you." 

Florence  laughed  mockingly.  "  I  never  suspected  you 
of  goodness,  or  noticed  your  eyelashes.  The  best  man 
I  know  hasn't  any.  How  is  a  girl  to  know  ?  I  would  have 
thought  that  a  noble  face  was  the  index  of  a  noble  mind, 
but  — "  She  interrupted  herself.  "  What  nonsense  I 
am  talking!  I  want  to  give  you  back  your  ring,  Captain." 
She  drew  off  her  glove.  "  I  told  you  I  had  a  nice  little 
sermon  all  prepared  for  you  but  I've  forgotten  what  I 
wanted  to  say." 

"  I'll  listen  to  your  sermons  and  learn  them  by  heart," 
he  said,  "  if  you'll  only  care  — " 

"  Here  comes  Lieutenant  Todd,"  she  returned,  "  I'm 
engaged  to  him  for  this  dance,  so  take  your  ring  back." 

"  Please  wear  it,"  said  Dick. 

The  young  man  put  his  hands  behind  his  back  and 
looked  down  at  her;  Florence  hesitated  for  a  moment, 
and  then  nodded  a  little  recklessly  as  she  pulled  on  her 
glove  and  walked  off  on  Hammy's  arm.  The  young 
lieutenant  was  bewildered  by  her  gaiety  and  sparkle. 
She  teased  him  and  laughed  at  him  in  a  manner  utterly 
unlike  herself,  and  finally,  when  they  were  resting  after 
a  wild,  swirling  waltz  that  Hammy  danced  to  perfection, 
she  insisted  on  seeing  his  card.  "  There  are  such  a  lot  of 
[278] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

pretty  girls  here  to-night,"  she  said,  "  that  I'm  sure  it's 
filled  to  the  brim." 

"  I  have  only  one  name." 

She  looked  up,  a  little  sobered  by  his  sad  tone. 

"  Oh,  please,  Mr.  Todd,  don't  be  foolish.  It  is  a  lovely 
floor  and  perfect  music  and  you  are  too  good  a  dancer  to 
be  wasted." 

"I'd  rather  stand  in  a  corner  and  watch  you  than 
dance  with  any  one  else." 

"You  will  make  me  unhappy  if  you  do  that." 

He  handed  her  the  card.  "  Very  well,"  he  said  meekly, 
"  pick  out  some  partners  forme  and  I'll  dance  with  them." 

"That's  a  good  boy.  Now  I'll  write  you  a  list  very 
lightly  in  pencil  so  you  can  rub  it  out  or  change  the 
name  of  the  lady.  I  put  down  Mrs.  Landry,  and  Emma, 
and  one  of  the  beautiful  Coney  girls,  and  let  me  see  — 
oh,  the  Ah  Sues.  They  are  all  pretty  and  you  can  take 
your  choice." 

"It's  contrariwise  there,"  said  Hammy;  "I'll  endeav- 
our to  see  which  one  will  accept  me;  they  are  in  great 
demand." 

"  Then  there  are  the  Bonner  girls." 

"That  is  sufficient  and  over.  I  don't  feel  like  dan- 
cing." 

"You  must,"  said  Florence;  "remember  this  isn't 
Paita,  Peru;  it  is  glorious,  delightful  Honolulu!" 
[279] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

Her  next  dance  was  with  Billy  Ah  Sue,  a  Centennial 
Lancers  with  eight  couples.  They  were  already  old 
friends  and  had  much  to  say  to  each  other.  Florence 
was  still  wildly  gay  and  they  talked  with  such  ani- 
mation between  the  figures  of  the  lancers  that  they  had 
to  be  called  several  times  by  the  rest  of  the  set. 

Her  partners  were  strangely  cosmopolitan.  A  slim 
black-eyed  Count,  attache  to  the  French  Legation;  a 
respectful  German  officer  who  called  her  "  gnadica 
fraidein"  and  clicked  his  heels  when  he  bowed;  sev- 
eral Englishmen ;  a  tall  thin  Russian  who,  catching  her 
about  the  waist,  spun  furiously  like  a  top  until  they  were 
both  breathless.  It  was  very  gay;  there  was  ample 
space  for  every  one  to  dance  without  any  crowding;  rich 
trains  swept  the  floor;  lights  sparkled  on  the  handsome 
gowns  and  splendid  uniforms,  and  the  music  was  varied 
occasionally  by  the  band  boys  laying  aside  their  instru- 
ments and  singing  a  waltz  in  a  rich  Hawaiian  chorus. 

The  supper  dance  was  a  lancers,  and  it  happened 
that  she  was  talking  to  Captain  Leigh-Garrett  when 
Max  came  to  claim  her.  For  a  moment  she  was  a  little 
frightened  at  the  sight  of  his  grave  face,  but  she 
plucked  up  spirit,  and  gave  Dick  a  radiant  smile  as  she 
parted  from  him  and  talked  fast  and  gaily. 

"Did  you  see  my  little  midshipman?"  she  said,  as 
they  took  their  places  vis-a-vis  to  Princess  Likelike  and 
[280] 


THE   PALACE  BALL 

Count  Tatsu.  "  He  asked  for  the  after-supper  extra, 
and  he  invited  me  to  visit  the  Stupendous.  He  says  they 
have  a  *  jolly  mess  in  the  gun-room/  whatever  that 
means,  and  promised  me  a  *  bang  up  tea. ' ' 

She  found  it  a  little  difficult  to  keep  up  her  nervous 
prattle  to  so  unresponsive  a  partner,  but  she  refused 
to  notice  the  strange  questioning  look  in  Max's  eyes,  and 
went  on  talking. 

She  was  looking  bewilderingly  pretty,  with  a  bright 
flush  on  her  cheeks,  and  though  she  tried  hard  to  con- 
ceal it,  the  little  flicker  that  Max  had  grown  to  know  so 
well  came  and  went  across  her  face. 

The  first  formality  of  the  ball  was  wearing  off.  The 
music  seemed  livelier;  the  dancers  laughed  and  talked 
as  they  swung  through  the  figures  of  the  lancers,  while 
many  of  them  joined  in  singing  the  words  of  the  well 
known  Hawaiian  melodies. 

The  Princess  Likelike,  when  she  touched  hands  with 
Florence,  nodded  and  smiled  with  much  friendliness; 
Count  Tatsu  whispered  a  compliment  as  they  met  in  the 
whirl  of  the  dance. 

For  the  last  figure,  the  Grand  Chain,  the  band  played 
a  hulahula  so  wild  and  inspiring  that  the  whole  com- 
pany took  up  the  refrain : 

"  He  inoa  keia  no  Paahana, 
Ke  iki  mahine  noho  Icua  hi  wi" 
[281] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

As  they  trooped  off  singing  into  the  supper-room 
Maxwell  led  his  partner  to  a  snug  little  seat  in  the  em- 
brasure of  a  window  where  they  were  entirely  hidden 
from  view  by  the  folds  of  a  velvet  curtain.  A  red- 
coated  serving  man  brought  them  a  small  table 
just  large  enough  to  hold  their  plates  and  glasses  of 
champagne. 

Florence  made  an  elaborate  pretence  of  eating  by  nib- 
bling the  edge  of  a  pate-de-foi-gras  sandwich  cut  into 
the  shape  of  a  heart. 

"This  is  what  I  have  been  looking  forward  to," 
said  Max. 

"  Isn't  it  wonderful  ?  "  said  Florence.  "  I  never  dream- 
ed the  palace  was  so  fine.  I  wish  I  could  see  a  grand 
state  dinner  in  this  room,  it  must  be  tremendously  im- 
pressive. Mrs.  Ross  says  Prince  Lunalilo's  portrait  is 
here,  but  I  declare  that  row  of  paintings  make  the  an- 
cient Hawaiians  look  as  though  they  were  made  out  of 
leather  and  stuffed." 

Her  partner  had  leaned  forward  and  was  looking  at 
her  steadily.  "  What  is  it  ? "  he  said.  "  What  has  hap- 
pened to  change  everything  ?  " 

"  Why,  nothing  that  I  know  of,"  she  said,  opening  her 
eyes  and  giving  a  very  good  imitation  of  surprise. 

"  I  have  been  looking  forward  to  this  ball  like  a  school- 
boy to  the  holidays." 

[282] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

Florence's  anger  had  melted  at  the  first  tones  of  his 
voice.  She  could  not  meet  his  eyes,  but  she  felt  his  pres- 
ence close  to  her,  and  her  heart  throbbed.  Then  she  re- 
membered Dick's  words,  and  drew  a  long  breath. 

"  I  looked  forward  to  it  too,"  she  said  perversely, "  and 
I've  enjoyed  it  immensely.  Everybody  I  met  invited  me 
somewhere.  I'm  going  to  a  luau  at  the  Princess  Like- 
like's,  and  a  theatrical  entertainment  on  the  German 
ship,  and  the  first  officer  of  the  Razboinik  wants  to 
teach  me  the  Russian  polonaise  for  the  ball  they  are  giv- 
ing at  the  Opera  House,  and  Mrs.  Tyler  asked  me  to 
take  part  in  tableaux  for  the  church  bazaar  — " 

"Florence,"  said  Max  appealingly,  "you  are  not 
talking  like  yourself.  What  is  wrong  ?  Why  have  you 
changed  since  yesterday  ?  " 

"  Yesterday  was  a  long  time  ago,"  she  faltered. 

"  Look  at  me,"  he  said,  but  she  would  not  raise  her 
eyes,  though  the  slight  tremble  of  her  lips  betrayed 
her  agitation.  "We  were  so  happy  together  under  the 
tamarind  trees  teaching  the  little  Princes,"  he  went  on. 
"  We  were  made  out  of  the  same  clay  yesterday." 

"You  were  different  then,"  she  said,  with  a  little 
break  in  her  voice. 

"  My  dearest  girl,  I've  never  changed  from  the  first 
moment  I  saw  you.  I  loved  you  then  — "  Her  hand  was 
lying  over  the  arm  of  the  chair;  Max  lifted  it  to  his  lips, 
[283] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

and  suddenly  started  back  at  the  sight  of  the  heavy 
blood-stone  ring.  He  recognized  it  at  once.  Florence 
raised  her  eyes  and  met  a  swift,  searching,  bitter  look 
and  knew,  in  that  moment,  that  she  had  wounded  him 
to  the  heart. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  said  gravely,  dropping  her 
hand  that  fell  limply  on  the  velvet,  "  I  did  not  know." 

She  could  not  speak.  It  seemed  as  though  her  heart 
had  suddenly  stopped  beating.  She  looked  up  at  him 
beseechingly,  but  his  face  was  pale  and  set  and  turned 
from  her.  He  rose,  smiling  coldly. 

"Shall  we  go  back  to  the  throne-room?"  he  said. 
"They  are  beginning  to  dance." 

She  felt  like  one  caught  in  a  net.  She  tried  to  speak,  to 
make  some  explanation ;  but  the  words  died  in  her  throat. 
The  barrier  of  reserve  he  put  between  them  made  it  im- 
possible. 

The  youthful  officer  of  the  gun-room,  who  came 
gaily  to  claim  his  after-supper  extra,  was  disappointed  in 
Florence.  He  had  thought  her  so  charming;  she  seemed 
interested  in  him  and  had  taken  his  remarks  seriously, 
as  though  he  were  grown  up;  now  he  found  her  cold 
and  preoccupied. 

Her  next  partner  was  Major  Kunikikua  of  the  Ha- 
waiian Army.  She  had  accepted  him  for  a  quadrille 
with  interest,  but  in  her  present  state  of  mind  this  broad 
[284] 


THE  PALACE  BALL 

stolid  officer's  laboured  remarks  in  English  were  dif- 
ficult to  understand  and  the  conversation  flagged. 
Fortunately  he  possessed  that  serene  repose  of  manner 
peculiarly  Polynesian,  and  when  his  partner  could  not 
find  a  word  for  him  during  the  intervals  between  the 
figures  and  as  they  walked  out  on  the  colonnade  after 
the  dance,  he  filled  up  the  pauses  by  singing  softly  to 
himself  in  Hawaiian. 

The  Missionaries,  the  Ministers,  Commissioners  and 
their  families,  the  more  serious  members  of  the  com- 
munity, left  early  after  supper.  Max  had  disappeared. 
Mrs.  Ross  signalled  to  Florence  that  it  was  time  to  go. 

"  Don't  leave  yet,"  cried  one  of  the  Bonner  girls  who 
was  passing  on  the  arm  of  a  be-whiskered  Russian; 
"the  ball  only  begins  when  all  the  old  fogies  have 
left.  The  King  never  dances  till  then,  and  when  he 
comes  off  his  perch  we'll  have  a  lovely  time." 

Florence  made  her  adieux  to  the  Princess  Li- 
liuokalani,  for  the  Queen  had  retired  early,  and  was 
crossing  the  hall  when  she  met  Captain  Leigh-Garrett 
hastening  towards  her.  He  was  looking  flushed  and  con- 
fident. 

"I  knew  you'd  wait  for  me,"  he  said  cheerfully;  "I 
was  just  having  a  cigar  with  Rex  to  fill  up  the  time  till 
the  Missionaries  left.  Now  we'll  have  the  place  to  our- 
selves." 

[285] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"  Captain  Leigh-Garrett,"  said  Florence,  drawing  off 
the  ring,  "  take  this  back  at  once.  I  was  wrong  to  wear 
it  even  for  a  moment." 

The  young  man  hesitated,  but  after  one  look  at  her 
face  he  slipped  it  on  his  finger. 

"  I'll  get  you  a  diamond,"  he  said,  "  or  would  you  like 
a  black  pearl?  I  have  a  ripping  big  stud  the  size  of  a 
bullet.  Looks  like  one  too,  you  couldn't  tell  the  differ- 
ence with  the  naked  eye." 

It  was  her  own  fault  that  he  was  so  insufferably  fa- 
miliar, and  yet  every  word  he  said  added  to  her  resent- 
ment against  him.  She  hated  Dick  Leigh-Garrett  not 
only  for  himself  but  woman-like,  for  her  own  weakness 
in  encouraging  him. 

"I  don't  want  anything  from  you,"  she  said  and 
turned  to  go. 

"  But  here,  wait ! "  said  Dick.  "  Don't  be  grumpy.  I'll 
give  you  my  black  pearl  and  I'll  have  it  set  round  with 
brilliants.  It'll  look  ripping  on  your  white  little  hand." 

"I  don't  want  your  ring!"  said  Florence  passion- 
ately. "  I  don't  want  anything  to  do  with  you ;  I  hate 
you ! "  and  ran  out  into  the  hall  leaving  the  young  man 
transfixed.  He  pulled  the  ends  of  his  yellow  moustache 
for  a  moment,  looking  after  her  in  angry  surprise,  and 
then,  turning,  saw  Mrs.  Landry  beckoning  to  him  with 
her  fan. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY 

Aloha  Oe 

THE  family  did  not  get  up  till  late  on  the  morn- 
ing after  the  ball.  Florence  felt  too  dispirited 
to  teach  the  boys  who  flew  off  to  devote  every 
minute  to  the  theatre. 

While  they  were  all  at  luncheon  the  telephone  an- 
nounced the  arrival  of  the  long  overdue  man-of-war 
Adams. 

Lulu  clapped  her  hands.  "Oh,  I'm  so  glad!"  she 
said.  "That  poor  Mrs.  Worthing's  husband  has  come 
at  last!" 

"  Well,  this  is  exciting,"  said  Mrs,  Ross,  "to 
have  the  Adams  come  in  on  steamer  day!  We'll 
go  down  to  see  the  Suez  off,  and  then  we'll  hear  all 
the  news." 

"  I  think  I'd  rather  stay  at  home,"  said  Florence. 
"  What  are  the  girls  coming  to ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Ross. 
"  When  I  was  your  age  I  could  dance  all  night  and  ride 
all  day;  nothing  ever  tired  me,  and  here  you  are  look- 
[287] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

ing  half  dead.  But  you  must  come  with  us  to  see  the 
steamer  off;  it  will  do  you  good." 

The  young  girl  made  her  escape  as  soon  as  she  could, 
leaving  them  all  chattering  excitedly,  and  went  out  under 
the  old  tamarind  tree.  Throwing  herself  down  on  the 
warm,  dry  grass  she  lay  there  thinking  while  she  idly 
touched  a  tiny  sprig  of  sensitive  plant  to  see  the  leaves 
shiver  and  close. 

She  wished  for  a  moment  that  she  were  going  back  on 
the  Suez  that  afternoon;  perhaps,  if  she  found  herself 
at  sea  homeward  bound,  she  could  forget  the  ache  in 
her  heart.  And  yet  she  knew  that  she  would  rather  die 
than  leave  Honolulu.  Max  loved  her.  He  had  tried  to 
tell  her  so,  and  she  remembered  the  tones  of  his  voice 
when  he  had  called  her  by  name.  But  now  he  must  de- 
spise her  for  a  shallow,  heartless  flirt.  She  must  have 
been  wrong  about  Mrs.  Landry.  He  could  not  have 
spoken  as  he  did  if  he  had  loved  another  woman.  She 
sighed  deeply.  Her  life  seemed  to  be  in  a  hopeless  tangle. 
Seeing  a  carriage  stop  at  the  gate  she  lay  very  still  lest  it 
might  be  visitors  and  she  was  in  no  mood  for  small  talk; 
but  when  she  recognized  Hamilton  Todd  she  sat  up  and 
called  out  to  him.  He  was  the  one  who  had  remained  un- 
changed and  faithful ;  her  only  friend.  He  came  across 
the  lawn  to  where  she  was  sitting,  looking  very  pale  and 
agitated  as  he  flung  himself  on  the  grass  beside  her. 


ALOHA  OE 

"  I  have  come  to  say  good-bye,  Florence." 

"  Why,"  she  cried,  "  your  ship  is  not  leaving,  surely  ?  " 

"I  have  been  transferred,"  he  said,  pulling  up  little 
tufts  of  grass  with  a  trembling  hand. 

"  Transferred  to  what  ?  " 

"  To  the  Adams.  She  goes  on  to  Peru." 

"  How  perfectly  awful !  I  am  so  sorry.  How  long  will 
she  stop  there  ?  " 

"Three  months.  Panama  Canal  troubles." 

"Oh,  Hammy,"  she  said  anxiously,  "you're  not  go- 
ing to  Paita,  Peru  ?" 

He  nodded. 

"Three  months  in  a  place  you  hate?  Oh,  how 
awful!" 

"  I  don't  hate  Peru  so  much  as  all  that,"  said  Hammy. 
"  I  was  exaggerating  somewhat." 

"But  you  do,  you  have  told  me  a  thousand  times 
you'd  rather  die  than  go  back  there  for  fifteen  minutes. 
It  is  not  —  it  is  not  any  sort  of  punishment  ?  " 

The  young  man  laughed  nervously.  "Oh,  no,"  he 
said.  "  The  Adams  is  the  flag-ship  and  has  brought  the 
Admiral  to  this  station.  He  has  sanctioned  the  change. 
I  asked  to  be  transferred." 

"  You  asked  to  be  transferred  ?  "  Florence  looked  at 
him  in  bewilderment.  Laying  her  hand  on  his  coat- 
sleeve  she  gave  it  a  little  shake. 
[289] 


THE   GIRL  FROM  HOME 

"Will  you  please  talk  sense?"  she  said.  "I  don't 
know  what  to  make  of  anything  you  have  said ! " 

"  Oh,  Florence ! "  cried  the  young  man,  catching  her 
hand  in  both  his.  "I  would  not  mind  going  so  much 
if  it  were  not  for  you.  It  breaks  my  heart  to  leave  you !" 

"  But  why  are  you  going  ?  " 

"It  was  my  duty,"  said  Hammy.  "Mrs.  Worthing's 
husband  is  on  the  Adams,  she  has  been  waiting  for  him 
so  long  —  and  she  would  not  survive  she  shock  of  an- 
other separation.  We  were  expecting  the  Adams  to  re- 
main in  port  for  a  considerable  period  but  she  proceeds 
at  once  to  Paita,  Peru.  She  coaled  at  Hilo  and  only  put 
in  here  for  mail." 

"Oh!"  said  Florence,  slowly,  a  light  shining  in  her 
eyes.  "  I  begin  to  understand.  You  exchanged  with  her 
husband.  He  will  stay  on  here  in  the  Mohawk?  " 

Hammy  nodded  and  began  pulling  up  more  roots. 

"And  you  will  exchange  with  him,  and  go  to  Paita, 
Peru  ?  Hammy ! "  she  cried  in  an  awe-stricken  voice, 
"  how  generous  of  you !  How  noble ! " 

The  young  man's  pale  face  flushed  suddenly  crimson. 

"  I  know  what  a  sacrifice  you  are  making,"  she  went 
on  enthusiastically.  "  It's  splendid  of  you  and  I'm  proud 
to  have  you  for  my  friend ! " 

"Thank  you,  Florence.  I  have  dared  to  call  you  by 
your  beautiful  name,  knowing  it  is  for  the  last  time. 
[290] 


ALOHA  OE 

Whatever  your  name  was,  it  would  be  beautiful  to  me 
for  meaning  you.  Will  you  write  to  me  sometimes  ?  Not 
very  frequently,  of  course,  but  even  the  Desert  of  Sahara 
would  be  habitable  to  me  if  I  could  look  forward  to  re- 
ceiving a  line  from  you." 

"  Indeed  I  will,"  said  Florence. 

"You  will  say  good-bye  to  the  family  for  me,  won't 
you  ?  "  he  said  awkwardly.  "  I  can't  trust  myself  to  see 
anybody  now,  I  must  be  leaving." 

"  So  soon  ?  "  she  cried,  "  surely  you  are  not  going  at 
once  ? " 

"  I  must.  The  express  is  waiting  and  the  Adams  is  on 
the  point  of  sailing.  I  did  not  allow  myself  much  time, 
but  I  had  to  say  farewell  to  you  before  I  took  my  de- 
parture. Good-bye,  Florence  — "  He  lingered  over 
her  name,  and  then  bending,  kissed  her  hand,  his  eyes 
full  of  tears.  "  Don't  rise,"  he  said.  "  Let  me  leave  you 
here  in  the  old  garden  where  you  will  always  be  en- 
shrined on  the  tablets  of  my  memory.  There  is  one 
heart,  Florence,  that  will  prove  faithful  to  you  till  it 
ceases  to  beat.  Good-bye." 

She  watched  his  tall  figure  striding  down  the  path- 
way. He  jumped  into  the  carriage,  looking  back  as 
it  turned  to  go  down  the  street.  A  wave  of  his  straw  hat 
and  he  was  gone. 

Florence  begged  hard  to  stay  at  home  but  the  family 
[291] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

were  all  excitedly  bent  on  seeing  the  steamer  off  and 
insisted  upon  her  going.  Lulu  even  brought  out  her  hat 
so  that  she  could  join  them  at  once  as  they  all  walked 
down.  "  Don't  bother  about  your  gloves,"  she  said ;  "  no- 
body wears  them  in  the  daytime." 

When  they  reached  the  esplanade  they  found  the 
place  crowded.  Great  stacks  of  coal  were  disappearing 
under  the  rapid  onslaughts  of  strong  brown  Hawaiians, 
who  sang  and  laughed  as  they  worked.  Native  girls 
were  selling  leis  and  the  perfume  of  frangipanni,  sweet- 
scented  ginger  flowers  and  maile  mingled  with  the  smell 
of  sugar  and  bananas  piled  up  for  shipment.  The  decks 
of  the  steamer  were  already  filled  with  people,  their 
light-coloured  dresses,  bright  parasols  and  wreaths  of 
flowers,  making  a  gay  mingling  of  many  colours.  Some 
of  the  departing  passengers  were  almost  unrecognizable, 
they  were  so  entwined  and  be-garlanded. 

The  Hawaiian  band  was  playing  with  great  spirit; 
the  crowd  formed  into  little  groups  and  broke  away, 
pushing  good  naturedly,  and  all  talking  and  laughing 
in  English  and  Hawaiian,  while  little  naked  boys  dived 
for  pieces  of  silver  thrown  from  the  ship's  deck. 

Florence    saw    many   people    she    knew,    and   was 

stopped  in  her  progress  to  the  steamer  a  dozen  times  to 

speak  to  friends.  There  was   Major  Kunikikua  who 

looked  larger  and  wider  than  ever  in  his  white  flan- 

[292] 


ALOHA  OE 

nels  with  a  yellow  wreath  around  his  hat.  Billy  Ah  Sue 
and  his  sisters  stopped  her  to  talk  about  the  ball;  and 
the  Bonner  girls  were  enthusiastic  over  Hammy's  de- 
parture. 

"We  made  him  some  leis"  said  Polly.  "And  Betty 
sent  him  a  box  of  cigars  and  a  pail  of  pvi" 

"  Where  is  the  Adams  now  ?  "  asked  Florence. 

"Outside  the  reef.  You  can  see  it  from  the  bridge. 
It's  just  about  leaving  I  think." 

They  all  pushed  forward  towards  the  gangway,  the 
Bonner  girls  still  screaming  in  their  high  voices. 

"  You  should  have  seen  the  row  at  the  hotel  this  mor- 
ning. It  was  simply  awful.  When  Mrs.  Worthing  found 
her  husband  was  not  going  to  stay  she  shrieked  and 
screamed  and  clung  to  him." 

"We  were  all  crying,"  said  Betty,  "and  Lee  simply 
bawled." 

"Then  Hammy  came,"  said  Polly,  "and  the  Ad- 
miral, being  in  port,  of  course  made  the  exchange  easy. 
Lee  offered  Hammy  a  silver  watch  the  size  of  a  turnip." 

They  all  struggled  laughing  and  talking  up  the  gang- 
way, the  overpowering  perfume  of  flowers  filling  the  air 
to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else. 

Florence  edged  away  from  the  others  and  worked  along 
to  reach  the  companion  ladder;  as  she  climbed  up  to 
the  bridge  she  found  Mrs.  Landry  and  Dick  in  posses- 
[293] 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

sion,  leaning  on  the  railing,  overlooking  the  crowded 
wharf.  The  widow  wore  a  smile  of  such  radiance  that 
Florence  stopped  involuntarily. 

"  You  are  looking  very  well,"  she  said. 

"My  dear,  everything  is  for  the  best  in  the  best  of 
possible  worlds.  Dick  and  I  have  made  up,  and  we'll 
never,  never  misunderstand  each  other  again." 

"  I  didn't  know  you  had  quarrelled,"  said  Florence. 

"We  didn't,"  said  Dick.  He  looked  sulkily  defiant, 
with  his  hands  rammed  into  his  coat  pockets.  "  It's  only 
a  case  of  *  quand  on  TV' a  pas  ce  qu'on  aime,  U  faut  aimer 
ce  qu'on  a! ' ' 

"I  don't  understand  when  you  speak  so  fast,"  said 
the  widow,  "  and  I'm  sure  it's  rude,  but  I  don't  care." 
Something  flashed  on  her  hand  as  she  raised  it  a  little 
ostentatiously  to  pat  her  yellow  hair,  and  Florence 
recognized  the  blood-stone  ring. 

"There's  the  Adams"  said  Mrs.  Landry,  pointing 
far  beyond  the  reef  where  a  man-of-war  was  slowly 
steaming  out  and  away. 

The  widow,  clinging  to  Dick's  hand,  disappeared 
down  the  companionway,  leaving  the  young  girl  alone. 
Florence  knew  well  enough  that  Hammy  was  looking 
back  at  Honolulu  from  the  deck  of  the  departing  ship. 
The  tears  were  in  her  eyes  as  she  gazed  out  to  sea  and 
waved  her  handkerchief,  bidding  farewell  in  her  heart 
[294] 


ALOHA  OE 

to  the  generous  lad  who  loved  her.  She  watched  until 
the  tiny  speck  on  the  horizon  grew  smaller  and  smaller, 
leaving  only  a  faint  puff  of  smoke  against  the  blue  sky. 
The  bugle  call,  for  all  hands  off  the  ship,  woke  Flor- 
ence from  a  reverie  and  she  climbed  down  to  the  main 
deck  following  the  crowd  ashore,  and  feeling  more 
desolate  and  alone  than  ever  in  her  life  before.  She 
walked  up  to  the  end  of  the  wharf  and  stood  beside  a 
great  pile,  watching  the  scene  like  a  person  in  a  dream. 
The  last  rope  was  thrown  loose;  all  along  the  deck 
of  the  ship  a  thin  line  of  passengers,  wreathed  and 
garlanded,  were  waving  handkerchiefs  and  small 
Hawaiian  and  American  flags.  The  Captain  stood  on 
the  bridge  issuing  orders  in  a  loud  voice.  A  last  be- 
lated passenger,  giving  a  daring  leap,  was  hauled  into 
a  port-hole,  amid  enthusiastic  applause.  Many  of  the 
passengers  were  crying.  There  were  several  girls  return- 
ing to  school  after  a  pleasant  holiday  at  home.  One  en- 
tire family  was  leaving  the  islands  forever,  all  drowned 
in  tears  and  smothered  in  flowers.  There  were  business 
men,  tourists,  island  folk  going  up  to  the  "  coast "  for  a 
trip.  On  shore  were  many  Americans  who  had  lived 
half  their  lifetime  in  Hawaii  but  never  failed  to  see 
the  steamer  off  for  "  Home.  "  The  younger  generation 
watched  the  passengers  enviously  who  were  going  into 
the  great  outside  world  which  the  natives  called 
[  295  ]  k 


THE  GIRL  FROM  HOME 

vaguely  "beyond  the  horizon"  or  the  "cold  country." 
As  the  heavily  laden  ship  swung  slowly  out  into  the 
stream  the  band  played  that  heart-breaking  Hawaiian 
air,  the  "  Parting  Song." 

"Aloha  oe,  Aloha  oe, 
E  ke  ona  ana  noho  ika  lipo. 
A  fond  embrace,  a  hoi  ae  au 
Until  we  meet  again  I " 

The  crowd  melted,  as  if  by  magic.  Emma  had  found 
Harry,  the  half -white,  who  took  her  off  to  Hart's  for  a 
dish  of  ice-cream.  Mrs.  Ross  met  her  old  friend  Mrs. 
Halelea  who  offered  her  and  Lulu  a  seat  in  her  carriage. 
They  had  evidently  taken  it  for  granted,  in  the  easy 
island  fashion,  that  Florence  had  picked  up  some  friends 
of  her  own. 

The  young  girl  stood  forlornly  at  the  end  of  the  pier 
leaning  against  the  pile,  and  trying  hard  to  keep  back 
the  tears.  Not  even  a  faint  finger  of  smoke  on  the 
horizon  showed  the  track  of  the  Adams.  The  Suez  was 
already  passing  the  light-house.  She  sighed  wearily  and 
turned,  starting  violently,  to  find  Christopher  Maxwell 
by  her  side. 

"  I  have  been  looking  everywhere  for  you."  He  tried 
to  speak  calmly,  but  the  sight  of  her  tear  stained  face 
and  the  pathetic  droop  of  her  lips  moved  him  deeply. 
[296] 


ALOHA  OE 

"I  could  not  be  mistaken  in  you,"  he  said;  "tell  me  I 
was  wrong." 

For  sole  answer  she  held  out  her  slim,  white  hands 
guiltless  of  rings.  Max  took  them  both  in  his,  with  a 
gentle  touch,  firm  but  tender.  Florence  looked  deep 
into  the  steadfast  grey  eyes;  all  her  strength  seemed 
to  desert  her  and  she  swayed  towards  him. 

He  gathered  her  close  in  his  arms.  "  You  are  my  own 
girl,"  he  whispered.  "My  sweetheart,  my  wife,"  and 
he  kissed  her,  though  there  was  a  shoal  of  little  native 
boys  swimming  within  a  few  yards  of  them. 

She  drew  a  long  breath,  with  a  little  sob  in  it. 

"  I  wanted  to  explain  about  the  ring,"  she  said,  "  but 
I  was  frightened.  Oh,  Max,  I  thought  you  would  never, 
never  know." 

"  Know  what,  sweetheart  ?  " 

She  looked  up  at  him,  her  face  glowing  with  a  new 
happiness. 

"  That  I  love  you,"  she  said. 

THE  END 


TUB  MCCICRE  PRESS,  NEW  TORE 


